Sharing Humanity: Hathal’s story
Hathal is one of the many thousands of children living in Qadisya Complex in Tikrit who have to walk long distances to reach the above pictured water point where they can wash their hands and cool down from the hot summer temperatures of the region.
Relief International’s hygiene team joins Hathal to ask about how he washes his hands.
“We only have one soap bar and it is used by my family in our house,” he explained. After taking a tour of the complex, it appeared that the home Hathal was referring to was a small room in one of the dozens of unfinished buildings where IDPs in the Qadisya complex are living.
Every day thousands of children and families are displaced in Iraq due to the ongoing clashes between the armed opposition groups (AOG) near Mosul.
These families are facing obstacles in accessing basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, among other challenges. More support is needed to enable Hathal and other children to cope with their displacement needs.
Relief International, with support from its donors, is currently working in the Qadisya Complex to provide adequate WASH services by providing water tanks, domestic water trucking and hygiene kits to ensure these vulnerable families and children have increased access to basic WASH services. In addition, RI is providing basic primary health care services to the IDP families through the provision of emergency Mobile Medical Teams.
RI will need more support from donors to continue supporting these communities and save Hathal and other children lives.
