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War Child, in association with the United Nations World Food
Program and the UK Department for International Development,
is now commencing operations in Nasiriyah, an area directly
affected by recent fighting.
The Nasiriyah women's and children's hospital has been damaged
by fighting and looting, as have the three orphanages in the
area. Medical supplies are low, sanitation is poor and gastrointestinal
infections are an immediate problem.
War Child is now commencing emergency relief measures, supporting
hospital running costs for the next two months and helping
to fund and supply food to the one orphanage that remains
open. A War Child bakery with the capacity to feed tens of
thousands of people will arrive in just over a week.
These are immediate priorities and, once the emergency phase
of operations is complete, War Child plans to develop longer-term
programs in Iraq, as it has done in other areas of operations.
The War Child bakery in Herat, Afghanistan baked more than
five million loaves of bread in 2002 during the emergency
phase of operations there, and the emphasis of our work in
Herat has now moved to sustainable community-based projects.
War Child Australia's Joanna Francis is currently there working
on a sustainable agriculture project and a plan to build a
creche for 500 children.
War Child Australia aims to support the international War
Child team in Nasiriyah by raising as much money as possible.
"In Australia we have no paid staff, and we aim to keep
costs in this country to a bare minimum in order to direct
our spending and our energy towards field projects,"
says War Child Australia Chair, Nick Earls. "War Child
Australia is small, but the return for every dollar we receive
is very high, and we are seeking your support for our work
in Iraq. We know we cannot solve all Iraq's problems, but
we also know we can make a critical difference to the lives
of many people, at a time when it's really needed."
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