Just like the previous year, we will surprise the kids in the province of Nineveh in Northern Iraq (Assyria) on Christmas. The past years we received donations from all over the world to support this event. The kids in this war-torn country experienced an unforgettable evening when Santa Claus appeared at their houses with a bag full of Christmas gifts. The program was created by Firas Jatou, President of the Assyrian Academic Society, back in 2004 to provide gifts for the children in Nineveh in northern Iraq.
Dutch Provincial Parliamentarian for the Labour Party, Ms. Attiya Gamri, who herself is member of the Syrian-Orthodox Church, one of the several churches that are currently under oppression in Iraq, will again patronize this event:
“The Nineveh Plains in the northern Iraq is a mosaic of peoples and religions. It’s a safe haven for every refugee and displaced person. You will find here the greatest diversity of cultures in Iraq: Yezidi’s, Shabaks, Turkmen, Kurds, Arabs and of course the Assyrian Christians. The Assyrians, known for their peaceful character, are in numbers the majority compared to the other groups. Young and old have been traumatized because of the horrible events in the past years. The Christian Assyrians have been a continuos target of political groups and extremists. This has caused many families to leave their homes to a safer place. I do hope that we, from Holland and the rest of the world, can offer these people a special Christmas greeting by sending them a gift!”
Assyrian Aid Society, the best known non-profit organisation in the Nineveh plains, has offered help in the financial transaction from Europe to Iraq.
The gifts are bought in Northern Iraq by members of the Chaldo-Assyrian Student Union (University of Mosul). This way we support the local shops and no money is lost in transporting gifts from Europe.
Every gift for a child in Iraq costs about 1- 2 Euros and you can count the number of gifts you provide those kids with your donation! Santa Claus will visit many villages and will not pass by any house!
This year, not all the money will be spend for the Christmas Gifts. A growing number of donors and advisers have requested that a part of the donations should be used for the Assyrian language schools and the growing number of refugees from all sides of Mesopotamia. We will honor their wish and forward our request to the Assyrian Aid Society of Iraq.
Do you wish to support this project?
Make a child in Nineveh happy and send your donation to:
Assyria Foundation – Netherlands
(Stichting Assyrie Nederland)
Bank- account: 5090543
BIC: INGBNL2a
International Bank Account Number (IBAN): NL29INGB0005090543
City: Oldenzaal
Country: Netherlands
Bank name: ING
Please mention this as: “Christmas Gift for Nineveh”
Do you have any questions? Please do not hesitate to e mail us at: info [ a t ] assyrie.nl or use our contact form.
This project will continue till December 25th, 2013 and will be organized together with a growing number of organisation:
Assyria Foundation – Netherlands
www.assyrie.nl
The Assyrian Heritage – Ms. Christine Faulkner
www.assyrianheritage.com
DTAA – Diyarbakir Tur-Abdin Assyrian Association
New York/New Jersey
Assyrians Without Borders
www.awbswe.se
Assyrian Evangelical Church of San Jose (USA)
Dutch Assyrian Society – Netherlands
Assyrians Without Borders ( http://www.assyrierutangranser.com/eng/ ), a non-profit organization in Sweden offered to facilitate the financial transfer from Europe to Iraq. Assyrians Without Borders are credited
with a “Konto 90” status (see: http://www.insamlingskontroll.se/en/inter/welcome-our-website-1 ) in Sweden.