A worrying development on this past visit was the significant sense of frustration with the Aid Agencies and the d ifficulty of translating their pledges into reality on the ground. USAID and UNDP were seen as being genuinely helpful. However, the huge increase in funding promised by the Trump Administration in Washington – the HR390 funding – had simply not materialised. Other countries had promised aid and then the money had dried up as soon as a Minister had visited and th

In our last post we explored the physical rebuilding that is taking place after the ravages of ISIS. But the physical rebuilding is only one part of the process. There is real concern amongst the church about the psychological impact of the ISIS emergency on the communities. The old people are traumatised, the young depressed and frightened. Read our next post to find out what is being done to meet this very challenging need. To combat this, Fr Aram (pictured, R with Sr Veron

One of the privileges of staying overnight in Al Qosh, thanks to the hospitality of the amazing Fr Aram, the parish priest of Batnaya, was seeing how much rebuilding has happened after ISIS. The church is taking the lead in organising the redevelopment not only of the towns of Tesqopa and Batnaya, but also of the communities themselves. At Tesqopa, after entering down a street pockmarked by bulletholes and shelled houses, we were lucky enough to witness the replacement work r

There is evidence for a school attached to the church of Mar Michel since the sixth century; one of the oldest known Christian schools in the world. However, it has of late fallen out of use and been replaced by three state schools around the town. However, thanks to the generosity of donors in America and the Hungarian government, the school of Mar Michel is opening once again. The new buildings, next to the New Monastery of Rabban Hormizd, are in the process of being built

Mar Qardakh is a new school we have been asked to engage with. We met the Headmistress in October, but this time we are here with a purpose - to prepare for the Professional Development Summer School that we will be running in July for the MQS teachers. MQS is the diocese’s flagship school pioneering the teaching of IB in Iraq. As part of this, we met frequently with Carolen, the Diploma Programme Coordinator for the School, who arranged for us to observe a range of lessons o

Last time we visited Sister Samar's school was newly opened. Now, with new uniforms and plans for expansion, it is easy to see the work of Sister Samar and the staff at her school. She and I had a long chat about the challenges they face, not least funding, as well as the demand for what she is providing - education in Arabic, the language of the families who have been forced to make Ankawa their home. This diocesan primary school is unique in that it teaches in Arabic, the l

Long in the planning we have arrived in Erbil for a four day visit. We have lots to pack in - including an overnight stay out in Alqosh and Tel Skof. We will be visiing the schools we are supporting, and meeting with those still working on delivering mental heath trauma counselling. First impressions of springtime - it is so green! The wheat is up, the grass is fresh and Kurdistan has had its wettest winter for 60 years! Looking forward to a few days in the warm spring sunshi