Save the Children. Its namesake is usually characterized as lending aid to unfortunate or impoverished children across the globe. From April 22 - 26, this organization offered help to far more than just children - they helped an entire community.
The organization went through the town, donating thousands of canisters of cooking fuel to Umm Qasr citizens whom haven't been able to cook a hot meal in months.
"The people have flour, rice, etc. - enough stored food to last them until mid-summer,"
explained Jonathan Patrick, operation manager for Save the Children in Southern Iraq. "How can they eat that, without the ability to cook it? The truth is they can't. So for them, this fuel is a godsend."
According to the Save the Children website, the cornerstone of every mission is to work
with families to define and solve the problems their children and communities face, utilizing a broad array of strategies to ensure self-sufficiency. In Iraq's case, 50% of the population is under the age of 15, which coincides directly with Save the Children's goal throughout the world.
"It's really great that we could help the families of the children we so often try to reach," said Patrick, who is based in the United Kingdom. "We obviously try and target children. But, in a situation like this, we give the fuel to the parents and the benefits will trickle on down."
Due to a political vacuum caused by the recent war, certain systems that previously
provided resources to the people were put on hold or destroyed all together. This made it next to impossible to get the priceless commodities needed for the people to survive.
For Patrick, who was among the first to arrive in a liberated Umm Qasr, the town has
gone through a tremendous change. The people, once suspicious and shy, have opened
up to he and his colleagues.
"It was like a city coming out of a siege," Patrick explained. "Umm Qasr has gone from
a ghost town to a town of excited people, ready to help themselves."
The Save the Children drive to get valuable cooking fuel to Umm Qasr families was never intended as a long-term program, but rather as a stop-gap measure until a permanent fuel supply system could be re-organized by the Iraqi people themselves.
The effort, however, has not been without trial and heartache.
"At a certain point, you have to disassociate yourself from your job," stated Patrick. "We have a job to do, and you can't make it personal. So many families are living in abject poverty and we'd love to help all of them. Because of the numbers, we can only target specific group of people that fall through the net. We can only help the poorest and most vulnerable."
For the citizens of Umm Qasr who helped with the operation, the event was heartfelt.
"We were given a chance to help out our families and our people," said Muhammad Al-
Jahir, a former dockworker who helped deliver the fuel tanks to families. "You can see that this is all starting to benefit us. We're finally able to help ourselves and make our own decisions. The future is bright."