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ISCA sends food to northern Iraq

Dec-16-2004 » Filed Under: Iraq News

(TFO Press Release)

MOSUL, IRAQ (December 16, 2004) – The residents of Al Fayida, a refugee settlement in a former Iraqi Army training facility near Dahuk, crowded the streets and cheered when seven flatbed trucks laden with food arrived in their village December 15.

They were the recipients of a large shipment of rice, noodles, cooking oil and other non-perishable food products purchased by the Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA) and delivered by Multi-National Forces Soldiers.

The effort was coordinated by Diana Elliott, the Iraqi Provincial Action Officer for northern Iraq, who works in the U.S. Embassy Office in Mosul. She arranged for the 133rd Engineer Battalion to deliver the food from Mosul, and called upon the 426th Civil Affairs Battalion Soldiers in Dahuk to coordinate with the village leaders to accept the donation.

When asked by the ISCA to identify a village most in need of food for the winter months, Elliott immediately thought of Al Fayida. She had just received word that funding had been approved for the reconstruction of the village’s three schools, so she wanted to deliver the news to the village along with the food.

“It’s a little village that has been forgotten, so I was excited to have this opportunity to present them with hope and optimism for the future,” Elliot said.

Elliott thanked the Soldiers of the Civil Military Operations Center in Dahuk for contributing school supplies to go along with the food donation, and the engineers for providing the trucks and manpower to make the delivery.

“It involved a lot of coordination on everyone’s part, but it was worth it. The smiles on the faces of all the children was all I needed to see,” she said.

The residents of the village are all refugees who were forced to flee their homes when their villages were destroyed by the former regime. According to the mayor, Waheed Abdi, there are currently more than 1,000 people living in the village, including approximately 700 school-age children.

“We are all very happy to receive the food, and the children will much appreciate the supplies you provided for our schools,” Abdi said.


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