* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
While winter is setting in, Terre des hommes has sent a team to the north of Iraq to bring emergency aid to the hundreds of thousands of fleeing families. They left their homes in haste and are now living in makeshift shelters, in dire conditions, looking after their children whose most basic needs they cannot meet.
To help these people get through the winter months, Terre des hommes has distributed “winter kits” to 800 families in northern Iraq. A winter kit includes a heating system, kerosene, jerrycans and blankets.
Distribution of winter kits in the district of Zakho, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Unfortunately, this emergency response is not nearly enough. According to OCHA (November 28th, 2014) more than two million people are displaced in the country itself. Alone in the month of August, 400,000 people sought refuge in the Governorate of Dohuk (Kurdistan Region of Iraq). They fled the fighting and extreme violence in the towns of Mosul and Sinjar.
Once in Zakho, families took refuge in some unfinished buildings on the outskirts of the town. Whole families are housed in rooms hardly 20 square metres big.
The people there are desperately in need of warm clothes for the children, hygiene articles and, for those living in unfinished buildings, plastic sheeting to protect them from the rain and cold.
To contribute to the emergency aid in Iraq, make a donation now.
