War Kids Relief

"War Kids Relief is

embracing the

creative potential of

children to become

peacemakers,

and providing a

much needed service

to American and Iraqi youth.

The children who

participate know that

their voices will be heard."

-- Charles London, WKR Program Director

and author of One Day The Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War.

Welcome to War Kids Relief!

...a new program of Children's Culture Connection

War Kids Relief was founded in 2005 by Capt. Jonathan Powers, former artillery platoon leader in the Army's 1st Armored Division, as a way to help Iraqi children deal with the adverse effects of the war.

Now a program of Children's Culture Connection, War Kids Relief is harnessing the creative potential of children in both Iraq and the US to make a lasting positive change in their lives and communities.

For Fall 2008, War Kids Relief is developing programs that help American children learn about Iraq's culture and history, and building on that knowledge, to encourage them to foster peace with their Iraqi peers by sharing their own unique culture with them.

Program One:

US-Iraqi Cultural Exchange

Through specially designed care packages and activity kits (including letters, artwork and videos) that will be taken to Iraqi students, American youth will have the opportunity to share their benevolent spirit with the children of Iraq. From there, the War Kids Relief facilitators will help Iraqi youth to create their own care packages to send back to their new friends in America.

On both sides, every child becomes an ambassador and every child who participates makes a connection. Aside from giving material aid, these children will be building bridges that can create a sustainable peace.

Program Two:

Multi-ethnic Peace-building Culture Camps

War Kids Relief will engage Iraqi youth from different ethnic backgrounds through cross-cultural, peace-building retreats designed to foster communication and promote peace.

WKR will sponsor and support holistic retreat programs where Iraqi children from different ethnic backgrounds come together for a week to relax, be kids and learn to appreciate one another in a nuturing and supportive environment . These programs include physical outlets (sports, dancing, jumping-rope, tag), creative outlets (art, story-telling, singing) and emotional outlets (letter writing, discussion, peer-support) that not only teach children about their respective cultures, but offer them a chance to get to know one another and build friendships with those they may have previously feared.

Program Three:

Sponsorship Program

Still in development, this sponsorship program will not only help families directly support the needs of Iraqi children orphaned by the war, but it will provide "cultural communication kits" designed to help educate and make more personal connections on both sides.

Please join our mailing list to learn more about our activities

and how you and your community can get involved.

PROGRAM DIRECTORS/ADVISORS

Charles London - Program Director

Charles London has spent 7 years working with vulnerable and marginalized youth, as a research associate with Refugees International focusing on war-affected children, and as the program coordinator and teacher trainer for Kaplan’s Inc.’s Supplemental Educational Services program. He has also worked as the Young Adult Librarian at a branch of the New York Public Library in Central Harlem, implementing programs to engage city youth outside of school time. He is the author of One Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children and War (HarperPerennial)

Sandra Hakim - Program Director

Sandra Hakim is a Baghdad native who emigrated to the U.S. after the first Gulf War. She has worked as a makeup artist in Hollywood films, television shows and in the New York fashion industry. Sandra now uses her creative skills along with her first hand knowledge to help educate American youth on Iraqi culture in constructive and experiential ways.

Jon Powers - Founder

Capt. Jon Powers served as an artillery platoon leader in the Army’s 1st Armored Division, and later as the Battalion Commander’s Adjutant in Baghdad and Najaf. His vision for War Kids Relief stemmed from his personal experiences during the war where he discovered that one of the greatest psychological coping mechanisms was interacting with children.