CLOWNS AND RELIEF SUPPLIES GIVE HOPE FOR KURDISTAN

We are committed to helping people in need – whether in Greece, Italy, France, Bosnia, Turkey, Ukraine, Syria or Lebanon. Freezing people receive clothing and hope, orphans a roof over their heads and schooling. The Caravan helps where humanity and solidarity are often lacking.

Kurdistan: Land of Internally Displaced Persons

Our last aid project took our 12-strong aid team to the north of Iraq, more precisely to Kurdistan. More than 2 million refugees live there. Most of them are internally displaced persons who had to leave their villages due to war and radical Islamic terrorist groups. Many of them are Yazidis, but tens of thousands of Syrians have also sought refuge in Kurdistan and are now living in huge refugee camps with more than 30,000 inhabitants each.

Support with relief goods and aid projects

Together with the local partner organization “Jinda” we achieved a lot on site: A total of 12.9 tons of donations in kind were collected and transported by truck across Europe to the Middle East. Our relief team was able to distribute the donations in kind – ranging from clothing, toys and school materials to sewing machines and bicycles – directly to the local population. In addition, aid projects specifically for traumatized girls and young women were supported with over €25,000. Therapies as well as vocational training are organized for them in order to give them a new start and thus prospects in life.

Artists create joie de vivre and solidarity

A special characteristic of our association is that – in addition to the distribution of donations in kind and financial support of the projects on site – especially the “meeting at eye level” is the focus of helping. The aim is to create a feeling of solidarity between the helpers and the refugees. Therefore, our relief team was again accompanied by clowns and the so-called “mobile painting room”. These artists are very important for the encounters with the children: because they are true heart-openers and manage to enchant their young audience in no time. This suddenly turns a clown show into a place of hugging, shared wonder and joyful music-making. The “mobile painting room”, on the other hand, is a place for “introspection” and provides space for “colorful” thoughts: when painting, feelings can be expressed without words and thus usually more directly.

Whether meeting the clowns or painting – it is certain that through these happy encounters the children forget their difficult everyday life and can, at least for a short time, just be a child.

We accompany our aid projects on a long-term basis. Those who would like to support our non-profit association and our project in Kurdistan can do so by making a one-time donation or by becoming a sponsor.

👉🏻Our donation account: Caravan of Humanity, Raiffeisenbank Güssing
IBAN: AT14 3302 7000 0002 3408

👉🏻Hier you can donate directly online.