Latest News from AMAR

MAY 2019 | VOL. 2

NEWS FROM AMAR The official publication of the AMAR International Charitable Foundation

Elder Bednar, Elder Holland, Baroness Nicholson, and President Ballard.

MISSION TO SALT LAKE CITY AMAR CHAIRMAN SPEAKS AT HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AMAR’s Founder and Chairman, Baroness Nicholson, flew to the United States to address a high-level symposium on religious freedom organised by one of North America’s most senior and well-respected politicians.

Senator Orrin G Hatch, who recently retired after serving as a Utah Senator for more than 42 years, invited Baroness Nicholson and senior AMAR colleagues to attend the event at his Foundation headquarters in Salt Lake City.

Other speakers at the event, entitled “Protecting Our Religious Liberty”, included the Senator himself; Leonard Leo, the Executive Vice President of the Federalist Society; and Professor Brett G. Scharffs, the Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University Law School.

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Religious Tolerance Donor of the month Con-GRADS to our AMAR Students Supporter spotlight Picture gallery

Baroness Nicholson spoke at length about AMAR’s award-winning work over the last 27 years and highlighted the extremely successful working relationship between LDS Charities and AMAR.

Her overarching message was on the desperate need for all the world’s faiths to combat religious discrimination to bring an end to the genocidal attacks on minorities such as the Yazidis in Iraq.

“We have a huge amount still to do. We cannot allow civilisation to go on like this. By which I mean this constant, endless genocide. This constant assault of people tortured and tormented because of their religion. We have to act

Guest speakers and honored participants at the Orrin Hatch Foundation event.

now. It would change the whole face of the globe if we were to get religious persecution stopped and religious freedom welcomed and loved.”

Following the event, the Baroness, AMAR Chief of Staff, Andrew Methven, and Treasurer, Chris Frost, joined Senator Hatch, fellow speaker Leonard Leo, and Scott Anderson, President and CEO of Zions Bank for lunch.

Later, the AMAR team met senior leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, including President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the uorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Jeffrey Holland and Elder David

Andrew Methven, Baroness Nicholson, Elder Wilford Andersen and Elder Tony Perkins.

Bednar, both senior members of the uorum of the Twelve.

The four-day mission also included a breakfast meeting for Baroness

The visit to Salt Lake City also marked

Nicholson with Sharon Eubank,

the formation of the new Utah Friends

director of LDS Charities and the First

of AMAR group. It will be led by Stanley

Counselor in the Relief Society General

Parrish, a former President and Chief

Presidency, and lunch with Barbara

Executive Officer of the city’s Chamber

Barrington Jones, whose family

of Commerce and former Chairman of

foundation has been a generous donor

the Republican Party in Utah.

to AMAR.

Donors of the Month DANA AND CRESCENT HELP AMAR PROVIDE LIFELINE TO IRAQ’S YAZIDIS Thanks to the ongoing generosity of Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, AMAR’s clinic in Khanke IDP camp continues to care for over 16,000 displaced people, the majority of whom are Yazidi.

The clinic is the only one in the camp and serves as a crucial lifeline for the over 2,800 families who continue to live there. They are unable to return home owing to poor security, and the destruction of homes and infrastructure by ISIS. With Dana and Crescent’s help, AMAR ensures that camp residents receive the best possible care. This encompasses physical and mental health – with Women Health Volunteers making visits in the community to ensure as many people as possible are reached.

It also includes preventative medicine. In April, over 300 vaccines were administered to children and pregnant women to protect them from various diseases.

The clinic is looking after the most vulnerable in a community that already lives in exceptionally difficult, deprived conditions. Almost 50% of those who visited the clinic in April were under the age of 14.

Over 1,000 women are under maternal care.

AMAR wishes to extend its thanks to Dana and Crescent for continuing to support this crucial work – and helping us to alleviate the suffering of thousands of people who have not only lost their homes but loved ones, communities and a fundamental sense of security.

Patients at Khanke clinic Khanke has been generously sponsored by Crescent and Dana for the last two years

Medical records for both sexes.

Con-GRAD-ulations to our AMAR Students at Basra Orphans' school More than 400 students at AMAR’s Emir School for

Children benefit from first-class facilities,

Orphans near Basra have graduated in a ceremony

including state-of-the-art IT labs, and a rich and

filled with musical performances, dance and theatre.

rounded education, ranging from the sciences to the creative arts.

The spectacular occasion was attended by children, parents, teachers and education officials, including

The graduation was a fantastic opportunity for the

a delegation from the Kuwaiti consulate.

students to demonstrate their newfound knowledge and skills, as well as celebrate after another year of

Guests were treated to song and dance by both the

hard work and learning.

children and local musicians, and theatrical performances showcasing what the students had

VIP guests included the Kuwait Consul Assistant, Mr

learnt throughout the year.

Wael Abed Al-Rahman Bakr; Dr Riyad Abd AlAmeer, Director General of Primary Healthcare at

Supported by the generosity of HRH the Emir of

the Ministry of Health; Mr Hassan Al Najjar, Deputy

Kuwait, AMAR constructed the school in 2016 and it

Governor of Basra; Mr Hassan Muthaffar, Senior Co-

was opened soon after.

ordinator of the Rumaila Operating Organisation; and Mr Ameer Ghazzawi, of the Abu Dhabi Islamic

We expect up to 20% of the school intake to be made up of children who have lost their parents – the incidence of which is disproportionately high in Iraq, owing to years of conflict and violence.

Graduation Photos with performances

Bank.

HUSSEIN AL ALAK – OUR AMARZING SUPPORTER People often ask why I support the AMAR Foundation's work in Iraq. For me the reason is simple. AMAR should get a gold star for its ongoing efforts on education. People often underestimate what something like literacy means to a country like Iraq, where education has often been interrupted as a result of war.

For millions of children, AMAR gives them hope to look beyond their current circumstances. It allows them to grow in an environment that will provide them with the basis to develop personally, thus enabling them to participate as adults and as equals in Iraqi society.

The power of literacy also allows children to understand the world they live in and hopefully be the driving force for a world that will one day be free from violence, sectarianism and conflict. Iraqi children are now growing up in a country that is rich in history but to understand that history, children must also have access to it.

In 1980, my mum fled Iraq whilst pregnant and with two small children. The outbreak of the war with Iran had led to the separation of our family, which was later exacerbated by the Gulf War and the ongoing political issues with Saddam's regime. My mum had to rebuild her life and the lives of her children here in Britain, and part of that reconstruction was through education.

As a child, I was always aware of being British and Iraqi, and through reading I was able to embrace history as an adult. This allowed me the opportunity to explore different aspects of both cultures. It gave me the privilege to see the world through a lens where problems can be resolved without conflict and it also gave me the confidence to see equality among my peers.

When history looks back on Iraq, I would like to think that future scholars will also acknowledge how AMAR helped shape them.

"For millions of children, AMAR gives them hope to look beyond their current circumstances. It allows them to grow in an environment that will provide them with the basis to develop personally, thus enabling them to participate as adults and as equals in Iraqi society.”

Hussein Al-Alak AMAR's leading supporter in the North West of England

AMAR Nurses and doctors celebrating nurses day in Khanke.

AMAR Nurse checks patient's blood pressure.

Twins receiving a check up at the Khanke clinic.

Mother and baby daughter in Khanke clinic.

Images from Khanke clinic.

AMAR Nurses and doctors celebrating nurses day in Khanke.

AMAR Nurse checks patient's blood pressure.

Twins receiving a check up at the Khanke clinic.

Mother and baby daughter in Khanke clinic.

Offices Contact AMAR ICF Head Office - AMAR International AMAR International Charitable Foundation 80 Petty France London SW1H 9EX United Kingdom Telephone: Email: Website: Facebook: Twitter:

+44 (0) 207 799 2217 london@amarfoundation.org www.amarfoundation.org amar.ldn @AMARLondon

Registered Charity Number: 1047432 AMAR International Charitable Foundation is a charitable company limited by guarantee registred in England and Wales.

Registered Company No: 03066579 Registered office: Aquila House, Waterloo Lane, Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom,