Before 2014 and the destruction brought about by ISIS, Qaraqosh/Bahkdida, on the Nineveh Plains was the largest Christian town in Iraq in a crucial agricultural region of the country. With up to 250 farms, so many were devoted to chicken farming that it became known as “Chicken City”, supplying poultry to grocery stores and restaurants throughout Iraq. Other farms raised sheep and cattle. Many farmers, their former livelihoods in ruins, left. But a faithful, tough, and courageous group remain. They need our help to rebuild what ISIS destroyed.

Since 2018, SWIC, working closely with ICC (International Christian Concern), has implemented its Family Farm Initiative (FFI) and helped reconstitute ten family-operated chicken farms, all of which today are self-sufficient. These ten farms contribute to the livelihoods of approximately 780 people down the commercial poultry network and touch the lives of countless more with hope. They are also profitable beyond SWIC’s and ICC’s most optimistic projections.

Funding a family farm is the easiest way you can help Iraqi Christians.