Turning Compassion into Action: $100,000 Donated Through ADFA to Heal Hearts and Homes.
Thank You!
The day after the unbelievably horrifying wedding fire in Iraq, where at least 120 people lost their lives and hundreds were wounded, we asked our donors and followers to contribute to the Shlama Foundation, which was among the first responders. Swedish donors also requested that we start a Swedish fundraising campaign. We raised $30,000 and have wired $20,000 of it to the Syriac Catholic Church in the city where the fire took place. Our dear friend, Father Adris Hanna, from the Syriac Catholic Church of Stockholm, traveled to his birth town Baghdeda (Qarakosh) both to monitor our aid and to report on the aftermath. His shocking and heartfelt testimonies are posted on our social media.
Additionally, we have donated $10,000 to EFS, a Swedish partner that will collaborate with the Iraqi NGO Capni, with the funds being used for medicine.
We responded immediately to the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Our sister organization, Transparent Armenian Charity Foundation (TACF), scoured wholesale businesses to purchase food, was given a space to work out of in Yerevan’s Marriott hotel, and raised over 10,000 dollars from Canada and around the world. We raised $20,000 and have used half of it to provide food for the displaced in both the border areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as cities surrounding Yerevan, the capital. The other $10,000 will be used to assist Artsakh Armenian refugees.
In Syria, ADFA has distributed $20,000 worth of food and water. Additionally, we have continued to fund the St. Ephrem Healthcare Center in Beirut, Lebanon. Furthermore, we remain committed to providing ongoing support for orphans in Turkey.
Iraq, Armenia, Syria, and Lebanon have all received aid in recent weeks and days, thanks to your generous donations. Whether it's $2 from some of our loyal donors who don’t always have the means to contribute, to the persons who contribute hundreds of dollars. We are grateful for every penny.
At the same time, we mourn for every single one who lost his/her life, whether in Iraq or Armenia, for those who lost their loved ones and who lost their motherland.
None of these efforts would be possible without the cooperation of our partner and sister NGOs and partners, but most of all, it's thanks to your contributions, dear beloved donors.
Last but not least, a heartfelt shout-out to our volunteers, no matter where you operate. We truly appreciate your dedication.
ADFA-administration
17 October, 2023
Photos in Armenia by: Sulamita Abyan, Shant Khatcherian and Karni Karasarkissian
ADFA, a recognized human rights advocacy group and charity, started as a social media campaign. Since then, almost a decade has passed. It was in the summer of 2014 that journalist Nuri Kino posted a message on Facebook, asking for help to spread information about the atrocities committed by ISIS and other terrorist organizations against the indigenous populations of Iraq and Syria - Assyrians/Syriacs/Chaldeans, Armenians, and Yazidis. People from nineteen countries joined to become activists. The campaign gained international attention and quickly grew. It received coverage from prominent newspapers such as New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Sky News, and Times.
ADFA, registered as an association in Sweden since the fall of 2014, has tirelessly worked to assist victims of ISIS violence living in exile, primarily in Lebanon. ADFA has contributed to changing the foreign policies of three American presidents and to getting the UN, EU, the US Congress, and the UK to recognize ISIS genocide and crimes against humanity against the indigenous populations of Iraq and Syria. The organization has also played a role in getting a century-old, largely forgotten genocide recognized by the US government.
ADFA has sent aid shipments with medical supplies, infant formula, sleeping bags, and winter clothes to Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Armenia, and Ukraine. Over the years, ADFA has collected and sent hundreds of tons of food and clothes. For example, after the earthquake in February 2023, 200 tons were sent from Sweden. In addition to the containers and trucks that have been sent, food and water are also purchased and distributed on-site.
During the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey in February 2023, ADFA acted as First Responders. This means that the organization was among the first to reach the victims of natural disasters.
From March to May 2022, ADFA helped 3800 Ukrainians to Sweden, mainly mothers and children. We also assisted many to Spain and Ireland.
In Lebanon, ADFA pays for emergency surgeries/hospital costs for, for example, women in need of urgent cesarean sections and helps Syriac League to run a dispensary.
At the end of December 2023, a woman named Maha surprised ADFA by thanking the organization on Swedish Radio for the help her family received in February of the same year. No other organization had reached the smallest town in Syria affected by the earthquake, where her family was trapped under the rubble of a high-rise building. ADFA managed to send volunteers to, among other things, rescue Maha's niece who needed an urgent cesarean section. ADFA is praised by celebrities here in Sweden but also, for example, in the USA, where Cher herself wrote "we need you" to ADFA on Twitter. ADFA has received several recognitions and awards for its work.ADFA provides a voice to unheard minorities and indigenous people at international conferences, writes reports, co-produces documentaries, and is a constant partner at the International Religious Summit. ADFA has contributed to several UN reports.