Posted: 10/29/04
Buckner provides shoes and socks for needy Iraqi children
By Russ Dilday
Buckner News Service
DALLAS–Buckner Orphan Care International recently presented the mayor-governor of Kirkuk, Iraq, with 7,000 pairs of new children's shoes and 10,000 pairs of socks.
The presentation came during Abdulrahman Mustafa Fatah's North Texas tour with Partners for Peace, an international goodwill agreement with Dallas.
The shoes were collected through Buckner's Shoes for Orphan Souls humanitarian aid drive, which has donated more than 1 million pairs of new shoes to orphans around the world.
| Jeff Jones, operations director for Buckner Orphan Care International, presents Kirkuk Mayor-Governor Abdulrahman Mustafa Fatah with a pair of children's running shoes, one of 7,000 pairs of shoes and 10,000 pairs of socks bound for Iraqi orphanages. |
“There are poor people in Iraq right now,” said Mustafa, a lawyer who was elected mayor-governor of Kirkuk in 2003.
He thanked Buckner for the gift, emphasizing the urgent needs in northern Iraq.
“In Kirkuk, under the Saddam regime, there was an effort to remove people from the area,” Mustafa said through a translator.
“These people were kicked out of their homes. They have been given back their homes, unfortunately many of these homes were destroyed … and they are living in tents in (a place like) soccer fields. They are in great need in every sector imaginable.”
Jeff Jones, Buckner Orphan Care International's director of operations, said the gift of the shoes “opens the door for us to minister to a lot of the children and orphans in Iraq. The sister city venue is a wonderful way for us to do that.”
The presentation summed Buckner's objective with the Shoes for Orphan Souls project–“for us to be a help to orphans and children allows us to see our ministry vision validated,” he said. “We have collected more than 140,000 pairs of shoes this year already, and we have several containers waiting for approval or funding.”
Jones noted that Buckner is waiting for shipping instructions and a shipping date from the U.S. State Department, adding, “They will get there as soon as possible.”
The Partners for Peace plan, announced by First Lady Laura Bush last summer, pairs United States cities with Iraqi provinces to promote communication, cooperation and understanding between nations.
Dallas is among six American participants in the federally funded program administered by Sister Cities International
“This is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, and we want to do our part to render aid,” said Tiffany Taylor, marketing director for Buckner Orphan Care International and Shoes for Orphan Souls.
“Thousands of Iraqi children live like refugees in camps where food, water, clothing and proper sanitation are scarce. Buckner is humbled to be able to touch these children in a tangible way.”
Governor Mustafa also met with leaders of Buckner Children and Family Services to discuss children's issues in Iraq.
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