The Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), in collaboration with the Red Crescent Society of the UAE and local donors, distributed $4.5 million to orphans in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq on June 2.

The donation was announced in a press conference on June 2, 2024, attended by BCF President Musa Ahmad and the UAE’s Consul General in the Kurdistan Region Ahmed Al Dhaheri.

“Kurdistan Democratic Party President Masoud Barzani has entrusted us since the establishment of the BCF to be a bridge between donors and poor and low-income people. We have done our best to connect the two and, thankfully, every year our joint projects with donor countries, international organizations, companies, and investors in Kurdistan are increasing in number,” Ahmad said at the press conference.

“Every year we have tried to incorporate holidays and special occasions into our service projects. Now, on the occasion of the approaching Eid al-Adha, BCF continues its large and extensive project aiming to support the orphans of the Kurdistan Region. The project began in 2012 under the supervision of Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who serves as chairman of the Founding Board.”

He said the project was carried out in collaboration with the Red Crescent Society of the UAE. He added that they hope to continue the project with Kurdish companies, and aim to carry out this project in other parts of Kurdistan and Iraq, in order for “every child to benefit from this project.”

“Our presence here today is a sign of our continuity with our brothers and sisters among the refugees and orphans in the Kurdistan Region. We will try to expand our projects in the coming years to include as many orphans as we can,” Consul General Al Dhaheri said at the event. 

“We hope that, after graduation and employment, they continue to progress in all aspects, so that they become people who have a good future in the Kurdistan Region.”

Consul General Al Dhaheri said that in the coming years they will continue to carry out further joint projects with the BCF.

“We are a strategic partner with the BCF for humanitarian assistance. I would also like to thank the BCF for its efforts in managing the refugee camps. These are efforts that some people may not know about, but as long as we have been involved in joint projects with the BCF we see the impact of this work serving people that need care and support.”

Distributions from the Red Crescent Society of the UAE and the Kurdistan Region amount to $4.5 million for 15,245 orphans in all governorates of the Kurdistan Region and regions in Iraq such as Mosul, Anbar, Baghdad, and Tikrit. Moreover, money was distributed to orphans in the Kurdish region of Afrin in Syria.