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Shared values When they received messages threatening their children, Mohammed and Raneen knew it was time to leave home. Mohammed was a lawyer and a member of the city council in Heet, a town in Anbar, Iraq. Armed militias who opposed his civic work told him to pay a bribe or suffer the consequences. Although his family had lived in Heet for generations and their farm had more than two thousand olive trees, there would be no peace if they stayed, he said. They refused to pay off the militia because they didn’t want to fund more violence.

In August 2013 Mohammed and Raneen took their now 5-year-old daughter, Rafiif, and 4-year-old son, Mohanad, and traveled north to the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Although they are Muslim, they settled in the predominantly Christian town of Ankawa because of its welcoming atmosphere and Arabic culture. In Ankawa, Raneen says, they can let Rafiif and Mohanad “walk the streets without fear.” Perhaps most importantly, the children have found a warm welcome at Kids’ House, where they are both attending preschool.

Kids’ House is run by Sisters of the Sacred Heart, an Iraqi order of nuns. Precisely because of its Christian values, Kids’ House opens its doors to students of all religions.

“We came to Kids’ House because of the shared values,” said Mohammed. “When Rafiif meets her friends—who are Christians, Yezidis and Muslims—she doesn’t think ‘I will hit them because they are different.’ We are proud our children know about many cultures and religions.”

News In the last 8 months, Ankawa has taken in around 12,000 Christian families displaced by Islamic State advances in northern Iraq. The community has done an extraordinary job of providing for these families, but tremendous needs remain unmet, particularly in education. In addition to academic concerns, thousands of children are struggling to understand the experience of displacement and the loss of their homes and schools.

UpdateEven as the need for early childhood education in Ankawa is growing, government support for teachers’ salaries has been eliminated because of the conflict. This has made it difficult for Kids’ House to serve children from low-income families. In spite of these difficulties, this winter it is providing afternoon educational activities for thousands of internally displaced children in addition to its regular programming.

A classroom at Kids’ House, with a nativity scene in the corner.

Five-year-old Rafiif at Kids’ House. Last names withheld for security reasons.

Spring 2015—IraqKids’ House

Story and photos by Nathan Hershberger