International Aid in Iraq

International Aid
Friday, 25 April 2003

An Update from International Aid President Myles Fish

Help is already en-route to the people of Iraq

The war is over—and now for International Aid the work of meeting the healthcare needs of a devastated people and country begins. We’ve been preparing for months, readying equipment, working with partners in the middle east, doing the difficult and time consuming foundational work—preparing for this moment.

Realizing that our expertise and experience in providing healthcare in war-torn countries would be crucial in Iraq, I traveled with Sonny Enriquez, vice president of International programs, to Amman, Jordan, in late February to prepare for our involvement. Sonny returned to Amman in mid-April to coordinate the shipment of our mobile medical clinic and finalize our plans. And now International Aid is poised to play a critical role in meeting the pressing healthcare needs of a people who have been victimized for generations.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, a mobile medical clinic, a vital water filtration system, 70,000 pounds of beans and rice and eight containers of baby food donated by the Gerber corporation are already en-route to the desperate Iraqi people

The World Health Organization has asked us to locate our mobile medical clinic in Baghdad and has committed to supplying the clinic with a three-month supply of drugs to serve 10,000 people.

Our plans call for International Aid to assess medical equipment inventory in hospitals throughout Iraq and determine what needs repair, what can be salvaged for parts, and what needs to be replaced. We will train Iraqis in bio-medical technician repair and equipment management and establish repair workshops in key cities. We’ve learned a great deal through our involvement in places like Kosovo and Afghanistan and with our world-renowned medical equipment services program and experience in training nationals. International Aid is ideally suited for this mission. Working with the World Health Organization, we also plan to provide mobile medical clinics to three other major cities in Iraq: Basra, Kirkuk, and Mosul.

Many people have called and asked what they can do to help. Very simply we need your financial commitment to International Aid. We need to introduce basic food rations and provide four mobile water filtering units in Baghdad, Basra, Kirkuk and Mosul. Each unit can filter 10,000 gallons of water in eight hours, serving 200,000 people per day. We cannot do it without the gifts of the people of America.

This is a critical time. We have an opportunity to respond with love and compassion to the poverty and despair of a nation that has given up hope. We are grateful to all who have donated supplies and financial contributions to support these critical needs. Your continued support is appreciated and greatly needed to help the Iraqi people find hope in the aftermath of despotism and war.

For more information, or to contact International Aid, see their website at: www.gospelcom.net/ia