The Iraqi Children's Project is a not-for-profit United States corporation focused on providing advanced medical care to the children of Iraq.
The corporation is organized exclusively for charitable purposes in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Ibrahim is a five year old boy who lost his legs in an explosion. Without a wheelchair, he had to crawl on the ground in Iraq and was not able to explore his surroundings. He came to the United States where Springfield Shriners Hospital fitted him with prosthetic legs, allowing him to walk again. He was excited and grateful to regain his mobility, and loved his time in the United States.
Awham is a 17 year old girl who suffered second and third degree burns over 50% of her body surface area. She received life-saving care for severe infections and wound closure in Iraq, and came to Boston Shriners Hospital for medical and surgical burn care. She had a difficult course in Iraq and a challenging transport to the United States, but through the tremendous dedication of many volunteers, she was given new hope to survive her devastating injuries. She successfully battled against the odds, survived her burns, and returned to Iraq in excellent condition.
Baby Noor is a one year old girl who came to the United States for life-saving surgery to correct a congenital defect, through the efforts of West Point grad and Army LT Sarah Dreyfus. Residents of the great states of Missouri, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania were especially supportive of this effort. She was beloved by all the Bostonians who met her, and returned to Iraq with a new lease on life.
Shireen is a two year old girl who sustained severe second and third degree burns to her face, trunk, and legs. ICP assisted in bringing her to the United States for burn care, and thanks to the tremendous efforts of the staff at Boston Shriners Hospital, she made excellent progress, allowing her successful return to Iraq in great condition.
Ikram is a one year old girl who we brought to the United States for life saving burn care. She was severely burned and had critical injuries to her head and face, but with the outstanding care she received at Boston Shriners Hospital, she had all her burns closed and was able to walk normally. She returned to Iraq and will need further treatment to address scarring and contractures as she grows.
Hadiyah is a 10 year old girl who sustained second and third degree burns on her chest, arms, and face. She too developed life threatening infections which could not be adequately treated in Iraq, so the Iraqi Childrens Project helped her to come to the United States where Boston Shriners Hospital gave her world class burn care. Within weeks, she was walking, then running, playing soccer, and enjoying life again. Her wounds healed well and she was able to return to her family in Iraq.
Dhuha is a 10 year old girl who sustained second and third degree burns over a large part of her trunk. When her burns became badly infected and threatened her life, the Iraqi Children’s Project helped to bring her to the United States where she was treated at Boston Shriners Hospital, one of the worlds’ best pediatric burn care centers. After several months of intensive medical and surgical treatment, she returned to Iraq in excellent condition.
Ahmed is a 19 year old boy who had a softball sized tumor in his neck compressing his airway, making it hard for him to breathe and threatening his life. He was terrified that he would suffocate and die but was unable to afford care in Iraq. The Iraqi Children’s Project first funded his chemotherapy in Iraq while he was awaiting visa approval, then brought him to Philadelphia for treatment at Jefferson University Hospital. He received state of the art treatment for Hodgkin’s Disease including additional chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and a bone marrow transplant.
His treatment was successful, his cancer appeared cured, and his prognosis is excellent. While he was in Philadelphia, he became friends with many of the medical students and often played soccer with them between classes. As well, he met some fellow Iraqis who were studying at the University of Pennsylvania, and valued having some friends from home nearby.
Ali is a one year old boy born with a complex heart defect called transposition of the great arteries which was causing heart failure, shortness of breath, and cyanotic spells in Iraq, threatening his life. His parents were frustrated with their inability to get him adequate care in Iraq and feared that he would die. With the help of Boston Red Sox team doctor Larry Ronan, he was welcomed to Boston where the Massachusetts General Hospital surgically repaired the defect and greatly improved his quality of life.
Within 10 days of open heart surgery, he left the hospital and actually was seen running for the door. After the successful operation, he is no longer having any symptoms and his activity level has returned to that of a normal energetic boy. Ali and his parents decided to stay in Boston and he now speaks fluent English and Arabic. He recently welcomed a new baby sister named Amina into his family.
Fatima is a 5 year old girl with a ventricular septal defect which was causing failure to thrive in Iraq. Her family was concerned about her low weight and lack of normal developmental progress, and they were not able to get her adequate care in Iraq. They brought her to a U. S. Army Forward Operating Base where the Soldiers fell in love with her beaming smile. She received advanced evaluation and care at the Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania, followed by a successful return to Iraq.
Kawthir is a 9 year old girl born with a ventricular septal defect, a hole in the wall between the left and right pumping chambers of her heart. The defect was causing heart failure, frequent cyanotic spells during which her lips and fingers would turn blue, and syncopal episodes causing her to faint. She and her family were terrified that any one of these fainting spells might result in her death, so they were thrilled when SUNY Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse agreed to provide her with life sustaining surgery.
She and her grandmother arrived in Upstate New York in December 2006 and were warmly embraced by the hospital staff and the Muslim community. She survived a difficult surgery, recovered well, and returned to Iraq two months after the successful operation.
Abbass is a six year old boy who was burned in Iraq when a cooking stove exploded. He lost the skin, his hair, and ear on one side of his head. He received skin grafts in Iraq followed by wound care and dressing changes three times a week at the Smith Gate Clinic, an Army clinic for Iraqi kids at Forward Operating Base Scania. The wound care was very painful for him, he tried to be tough but he cried at the visits, and his head was not healing well, so Boston Shriner’s Hospital was contacted and agreed to perform skin grafting and reconstructive surgery.
With the help of Project Hope, ICP brought him to Boston for care and after four weeks, for the first time in 6 months, he had no bandages on his head and no open wounds. His smiles grew wider by the day and he made many new friends in the United States. Abbass returned to Iraq with his dad after a successful trip.
Thio is a six year old boy who fractured his left femur and the repair in Iraq left his knee locked at 90 degrees, limiting him to hopping around on his one good leg, severely restricting his mobility. This was a tough situation for an active boy, so his family was excited when a hospital in Texas agreed to provide him with free care. ICP assisted with securing U.S. entry visas and the logistics of travel. Thio’s surgery in Texas was a great success and he returned to Iraq wanting to play soccer for the Iraqi National team one day.