Partnering to build hope, capacity, and community

Welcome to our first update in 2024

first I want to thank you for continuing to partner with us into this new times! The world is becoming more unrestful and complex day by day ... but we continue to restore hope, build capacity and promote community.

As a new year gift - please download our 2024 calendar from the link below. 

So what is going on in our Operation Mercy world?

In December I was able to visit our Team in Afghanistan for 10 days, it was an amazing experience to meet mothers, babies and communities whose hope is been restored.

I invite you to check out our Facebook page and videos to see more about the work us. https://fb.watch/p_96lTDejD/ 

We are also right now gathering stories and statistics of 2023 for our annual report which I will be able to present to you in our next update.

But I would like to share one story already with you to give you a taste of what is going on and for you to rejoice with me in hope restored in another situation.

This story comes from Iraq.

At the end of September, there was a large fire at a wedding hall that took place during a wedding in a small local village. Over 130 people were killed in the fire, about half of whom were children. Many more were injured and left with severe burns on their bodies. This tragedy was traumatic for the entire village because most of the village was present at the wedding, and everyone lost someone in the fire. In response to the crisis, Operation Mercy has gone weekly to provide trauma aftercare for the community. We have worked with the families of the fire victims and the survivors that came away with burns and PTSD.

One of our participants Mario is a 5-year-old little boy. Tragically Mario lost all his siblings and both of his parents in the fire. He is now living with his aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandmother. When we first began working with Mario, he was noticeably quiet and shy. He would sit with his face buried in the couch, not wanting to interact with anyone or engage in any activity. His anxiety was severe to the point of not being able to leave his home to go to school or even leave his caretakers' side. Though his behaviours were troubling to his aunt and uncle, because of the mental health stigma in this society, the grandmother opposed Mario receiving trauma aftercare. Initially the grandmother’s worldview wanted all the family to remain in continual sadness and grief, because she believed moving forward in healing would dishonour those who died. This created suspicion and distrust of our staff trying to empower Mario.

Amid these challenges, every week our OPM staff member goes to visit him and his family. Each week, Mario has become more comfortable, and they have been able to build trust in their relationship. He has now been engaging well in the therapy activities and Mario has made surprising progress in the therapy times! He has shown incredible emotional awareness and communicated about his anxiety and other emotions through Arabic emotion dolls and animal pictures. Now when our OPM staff member goes to visit, rather than hiding his face in the couch, he runs to the gate to greet her with a giant smile and big hugs, and he immediately lets her know that he is ready for their activity time. He is even ready to restart school. Partially due to Mario’s progress, the grandmother has now interacted positively with our staff and even showed some trust and support in the work we are doing. It has taken time and perseverance through challenges, but the growth and healing in Mario has been demonstrated in his broad smile and fresh five-year-old curiosity of life.

 More from us as soon as the report is finished.

 Thanks for continuing to support us – in restoring hope, building capacity and promoting community.

Yours Andrea 

Links:

• New year gift - 2024 Calendar
• follow us on facebook for updates 3x a week!
• follow us on Instagram