a friend in need


During the past few weeks, I've made a new friend in Iraq, Kahlid Jarrar. He is a young student who lives there with his family. His entire family blogs (with exception of the father, an engineer with the water company, who has no interest in blogging). That is to say that whenever I read about something that happened to Kahlid, like when he attended a wedding or a bomb went off near his house, I get to learn more about it from the perspective of his mother or brother as well. It has been most interesting and most enlightening. It gives me insight into what it's like to live in an occupied land during wartime and also how some of the Iraqi people feel about what has and is going on. I've since adopted this family into my heart.

Recently, when Kahlid's blog included a plea for help for the local hospital with a list of some of the supplies and equipment they needed, I ached to help them, but since he didn't give the name or address of the hospital (and since we have no income and are almost entirely incapable of helping anyway) there wasn't anything I could do but pray for them. But because I did that, they were always foremost on my mind. So, I wrote to Kahlid and asked him more about the need so that maybe I could pass it on. Since then, he and his family came up with a plan to not only help the hospital but to take up the effort of humanitarian organizations that have pulled out of the area. It was my first inclination to be skeptical whenever anyone from a foreign country asks for money on the internet. However, having "gotten to know" this family and correspond with Kahlid through emails for the past couple of months, I want to believe that they are sincere in their intentions. Here is Kahlid's latest email, and links to the family blogs. I have prayed about it and personally will be giving toward this effort though my own portion will be small. However, I also believe enough in what they are doing to ask others to give as well. You'll find the link to give toward their cause at Kahlid or his brother's blog, links below.

Dear friends..
we started a campaign of fund raising on our blogs,
secretsinbaghdad.blogspot.com raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com and
afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com.
the money collected will go to the hospitals and families in battle
zone, in Falluja and in other places, we will supply the hospitals
with what they need, and we will promote humanitarian aid to the
famillies that their houses were distroyed in the bombing, or those
who lesft their houses and are afraid to get back to it because of the
bombing.
we will supervise the way that all the money is spent, we will keep
receipts for everything, and also pictures for everything we buy and
receipts from hospitals when we deliver anything to them, and from
whoever is incharged of the families in each area...
we will make sure the aid goes to the right hands.
its left to say that every $5 buys alot of things in iraq, if everyone
donated only $5 we will have a good sum at the end of the day, of
cource we wont be so angry if you donated more, some medical equipment
are very expensive.
thank you very much..
take care of yourselves..
khalid*

Posted: Sat - October 23, 2004 at 10:30 AM           |

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