6 Things We Accomplished in Erbil
I would like to share with you a recap of the recent successes of TentEd, a project of EPIC, to support the education of displaced children in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
I returned to the KRI in December 2014 with over $18,000 in donations from a growing network of friends and supporters. Since the first TentEd project last June, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis, have joined the war-fleeing Syrians in taking refuge in the safety of the KRI. These tragic circumstances gave our work even more significance and urgency.
Working with Kurdish officials and trusted partners like International Volunteers of Yamagata and the Chaldean Church, TentEd successfully funded several rapid impact initiatives, including:
- Helping set up a library in Mar Elia Church in Erbil. Now nearly 200 child refugees, who live in the church courtyard with their families, have a place to read and learn in a safe environment.
- Covering the cost for one-month of transportation for 260 students at Kobani Elementary School. This simple investment offsets the largest education-related cost refugee families have to bear.
- Compensating 24 teachers who had not been paid in months with a $100 stipend each to help them get by.
- Distributing winter jackets to 51 children from low-income families.
- Purchasing a faculty computer and printer so teachers don’t have to take their administrative tasks home or work on borrowed computers.
- And my favorite: providing eyeglasses to one cute girl who was unable to read or write because she could not see.
As you can see, our responsive grassroots approach allows us to make an outside impact with a relatively small amount of money. Our second project was a great success that could not have been possible without the generous donations of so many of you.
We look forward to sharing future plans with you. Thank you again for your continued support!
Zack Bazzi is leading TentEd in Iraq with sponsorship from EPIC.
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