Kurdistan Children's Fund / Kurdistan save the Children were among many groups of volunteers that offered assistance and help to the Kurdish people after the uprising of 1991. Years of caring, fund-raising and striving to overcome what have often seemed insurmountable obstacles have made the KSC/KCF a strong, reliable and trustworthy organisation. We are proud to have received high-profile backing from the British Government's Department for International Development, ECHO and UN agencies, for our resettlement programmes

Some of our achievements over the past seven years are as follows.

Sulaimaniyah Region

· Victoria Village - This comprises 400 recently completed houses for over 2,000 displaced people, that have, since 1991 been living in appalling condition in ex Security Buildings, ruins of Iraqi military compounds and under plastic shelters.

· The provision of a rehabilitation programme for women and young people who have been up till now scavenging on the city's rubbish tips. In the first phase around 90 people, mainly children and women, have been registered and currently attending free training courses on sewing, weaving, knitting, hairdressing and local shoe making. At the end of their training they will be supplied with the necessary tools to start income generating work.

· The rebuilding and furnishing of the children's wing of the main library in Sulaimaniyah; this is open to all children in the city.

· The opening of a home for elderly men and women who have no families of their own to look after them, previously they were living in makeshift shelters.

· Sheep raising project, a loan and saving project where 222 heads of sheep and goats have been bought for 52 families to help them become self sufficient .

· Pottery project, a small pottery factory has been set to revive this old art of the region

· Working children's cultural centre in Sulaimaniyah provides a healthy environment for working children to play, entertain and perform cultural activities as well as training and teaching course in various subjects.

· Running a 2 months summer holiday training course for Nawjawanan (Yafeen) schools. It was started in the middle of August 1997.

· Running eight Art and Sport centres (5 in Sulaimaniyah, and 1 in each of Koya, Kalar and Rania) 1997.

· Supporting children's arts activities (Giving financial help to the children's arts team in Sulaimaniyah and other groups)

· Shameran resettlement program funded by OFDA, construction of 360 shelters, with related health centre, Watson projects and schools

· Working with children who have dropped out of school, by opening and managing Nawjawanan /Yafeen Schools. This programme was funded by both KSC and limited funds from UNICEF.

· Supplying food, & clothes, to the orphanages, also giving gifts for celebrating festivals.

· Rehabilitation of a public garden in Halabja, construction of a children's park in Sulaimaniyah · Rehabilitation of 2 schools and a health centre in Bazian, construction of a health centre in Zalan, Sharbazher

· Rehabilitation of 29 schools in Kalar, Kifri, Bawnoor, Darbandikhan, Shekh Raza, Shorish and Sarquala

· Issuing identity Cards for the ANFAL families 

Erbil Governorate

· Feeding program for all Koya and surrounding schools including supplying supplementary food for 10,00 children for a period of nine months.

· Construction of a children's park and playground · Rehabilitation of Erbil fine arts institute

· Rehabilitation of 10 schools with SCF

· Rehabilitation and equipping Qornofel nursery

· Feeding program for Nawjawanan /Yafeen school with Equilbre

· Distribution of poultry, food and clothes among collective towns around Erbil

· Distribution of milk among the poor families

· Distribution of drugs and medical instruments among Erbil hospitals

All Governorates.

· Distance sponsorship programme, started in 1992, this involves collecting monthly aid for more than 1,700 orphan children.

· Street and working children program, collecting, housing, feeding, clothing, training and finally repatriating homeless children. Until now around 70 homeless children have been rescued from the streets and placed into care. Concerning working children, we sponsor 5 schools for the dropouts (more than 600 pupils) where we provide hot meals, stationary, occupational training and periodic festivals and exhibitions. A cultural centre for the working children is to be opened soon.

· Rehabilitation of orphanages in Sulaimaniyah, Erbil, and Dohuk with co-operation of the Kurdish National Congress

Our long-term plans include giving families a start by introducing income-generated schemes. We will provide seeds, sheep, goats, and farming tools and will also introduce training workshops for girls in sewing and needlework to teach them traditional crafts. We will also educating those children both girls and boys who have not been able to attend school because of the past situations.

NAWJAWANAN (Kurdish)/Yafeen (Arabic) - Schools for children who have failed for one reason or another to attend primary school. (Economic, destruction of schools etc:) Children from 9-15 years old are accepted in these schools, In these schools, children also have a chance to learn a skill, usually carpentry, hairdressing, tailoring. The curriculum of Nawjawanan is the same as the primary schools but include psychological counselling.

ANFAL - Operations carried out by the Iraqi army from the early 1980's until the Gulf war, this was the widespread destruction of 4,000 Kurdish towns and villages including the mass killing and deportation of thousands of Kurdish people by the Central Government of Iraq