MEDEAST PROJECTS

Thank you for supporting our work on the ground in Kurdistan, Iraq!

Eden Village

It takes a village to raise children well. The same is true of raising spiritual children. They must have a peaceful place to develop well, free of persecution.

In 2005 Christians in Baghdad, Iraq suffered violent persecution from extremist Muslims.  Christians from around the world donated money to build a new village for them in a rural place on the Tigris River in Northern Iraq’s safe and autonomous Kurdistan Region.  They built 40 houses, a community center, a small elementary school, and a church building.
Most of the Christians who moved there from Baghdad later migrated to Europe, Australia and America with their leaders.  Then Yezidis sought refuge in Eden in 2014 when ISIS attacked their homes in the far away Sinjar district of Nineveh Province.  The Yezidis then returned to Sinjar after ISIS was defeated.

Only 5 Christian families were left in the village when MedEast came in 2021 to renovate the dilapidated buildings and gardens. ICM in America fully supported the repair work on 7 houses, school and community center/church.

Other Christians, including converts, who are persecuted by Muslims and Yezidis in Iraq, living in unsafe areas, will also be given refuge in Eden if funding is provided.

Newcomers receive free housing and utilities, and learn how to make soap, candles, glass bottle crafts, and other crafts. They grow potted flowers, dragon fruit, grapes, and vegetables too. Moreover, some learn how to raise animals and farm fish.

These activities give them an income to cover expenses. Donations also help them meet their needs.

Eden Village

School, Garden of Eden, Tigris/Hiddekel River

Gula Nissani Safe Home

This project involved the construction and operation of a 40-room residential facility aimed at housing 30 women, children, and babies who had survived ISIS capture and assault. The facility provided a comprehensive array of services, including mental health support, livelihood training, legal assistance, social support, sewing and handicraft workshops, English language classes, sheep wool production, spinning, weaving, and streamlined immigration programs. It stood as the sole facility in northern Iraq where Yezidi or other ethnic minority women/girls could reside with their children born from incidents of ISIS rape. The facility officially opened and hosted its second cohort of survivors starting from September 22, 2018.

Gula Nissani Safe Home

Shoe distribution to villagers

Aid Distributions

We work to provide sustained winterization, food, medical, dental, and other programs for relief of Christian and Yezidi IDPs in Seje Village, an ancient village in northern Iraq. Starting in August 2014, local youth volunteers were engaged and supported through funding from various sources.

Books by Dr. Paul Kingery, MedEast Org.

Writing detailed accounts of the Genocide

We aim to write from the perspective of single villages one at a time, following some of the victims through their experience of capture, abuse, escape, and recovery.  Already completed Tel Azer and Mosul, and just finished working on Kocho.  Each account results in a book.

Previous Founding Work in Iraq

of American University Dohuk during the 7 month start-up phase, as full professor, and establishing the English Language Institute, Dohuk, Iraq.

of Rwanga Charitable Organization, operated by Edris Barzani, son of PM Nechirvan Barzani, in the first months of start-up, Erbil, Iraq.

Founder of the Kingery Institute for Language and Computing, Ankawa District, Erbil, 10 years in operation, receiving a subcontract for instruction of female IDPs from the US Consulate in Erbil.

Consultant for the United Nations Development Program, Board for Refugees and Humanitarian Assistance, Dohuk, Iraq, meeting all UN players and relevant KRG Directors to plan for 2017 aid efforts in Dohuk Province.

for such organizations as Genocide Research Organization, MedAir, PCCR, Hands of Hope, International Negotiation Institute, Warvin Foundation for Women’s Issues, Women’s Rehabilitation Organization, Women’s Empowerment Organization, Kurdistan Human Rights Watch, Soran Association for Care of the Handicapped, Thalassemia Association, and other Iraqi NGOs.  Some began under the umbrella of MedEast, while others received assistance in grant writing and project management.

PARTNER WITH MEDEAST

Our work, on the ground in Kurdistan, Iraq, continues because of your support. Thank you for being our partner in this fight for peace and restoration.