The Year in Pictures [2023 Edition]
It’s been an eventful year for Whole Heart International! While continuing to provide psychosocial support, education enhancement, and relief to refugees and IDPs, we also added new programs and expanded our team on the gorund.
Additionally, our work is growing beyond Northern Iraq. This year, founder Jordan Danchik found himself in Turkey after two devastating earthquakes to help with disaster relief efforts. He also spent time in Ukraine to provide resilience training and 1-on-1 support for individuals dealing with the long-term effects of armed conflict.
We praise God that He is giving us more and more opportunities to be a blessing!
Here are some of pictures that capture the work and impact of Whole Heart International in 2023.
Turkey: Earthquake Response
In March 2023, founder Jordan Danchik and his son JJ traveled to areas hit by the earthquake to offer aid, set up infrastructure for incoming relief teams, as well as to meet and pray with those affected. The physical devastation was beyond words, and the emotional scars will last for years to come. Many children still struggle to fall asleep at night, as the earthquake struck before dawn when everyone was asleep.
Ukraine: Resource and Resilience
In April, Jordan Danchik was invited to speak at a conference about the effects of grief, trauma and resilience. During this time, he was able to offer practical and emotional support to both soldiers and civilians experiencing high amounts of stress. We are thankful that through our experiences of living and working in Iraq, Whole Heart International is now able to offer support to others navigating the long-term effects of armed conflict.
Iraq: Dramatherapy with IDP children
Our partnership with For the Love of a Child UK continues to deepen as we launched the Listening Stone Program in a new site - a camp for internally displaced persons from the Mosul area. Almost all of the 100+ children who experienced the program were born in the camp and have spent their whole lives displaced.
The Listening Stone Program is an 8-week drama therapy program that utilizes play, stories, music, drama, and art to support the psychosocial development of children. It is designed for children who have experienced trauma as a result of war and who are still living in a state of ongoing displacement.
Through this life-changing program, we have witnessed positive change in the children we work with. As trust was built, many of the children who displayed signs of hyperactivity, anger and depression were able to share their fears and sadness with our team. We have also been able to support the livelihoods of people on our team who are themselves refugees.
Iraq: Refugee Education Enhancement
Throughout 2023, we continued to support an informal education center for Syrian refugee children. Although the center had to be put on pause for a few months because of a change of management, it is now up and running again, serving approximately 50 - 70 children weekly.
Many of the children who have benefitted from this center are now attending schools, thanks to efforts by UNICEF to integrate refugee children into the local education system. We are grateful that we were able to support the education gap during a time when the refugee community faced many barriers to accessing quality education.
We continue to serve children in the community who are not able to attend school full-time for various reasons, including because of learning difficulties or speech delays.
Iraq: Training & Equipping Workers
WHI hosted several trainings this year on topics relevant to workers in the humanitarian field in Iraq. Every training is intended to equip workers living in the region to better understand the psychosocial context of the communities they work with, and to offer practical tools.
Some of the workshops offered this year:
Adverse Childhood Experiences: Understanding the impact of childhood trauma
Carrying Burdens: A healthy approach to walking with people in need
Caring for those who Care: What it takes to help others through grief & trauma
Dramatherapy Training: The importance of play and making meaning
Thank you for all your support that has helped us accomplish so much in 2023!
We are excited for 2024 and believe God will give us even more opportunities to bring healing to those who are hurting. We hope you continue to journey with us in rebuilding lives impacted by war, conflict and disasters.
Sincerely,
The team at Whole Heart International