The Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF) was founded by two Americans who lived and worked in Iraq during the war. Maxwell Quqa served as a bilingual, bicultural advisor for US officials in Iraq and Jonathan Webb served in Iraq with the United States Army and a private firm. Through their work in Iraq, both men became acutely aware of the plight of orphans in Iraq. The sectarian violence and terrorism that wracked the nation had taken a heavy toll on those who are the most vulnerable, the children.
ICF began its work as a humanitarian assistance organization, offering concerned Americans as well as Iraqis an opportunity to take concrete action to help orphans. Mobilized by ICF, caring Americans in the United States, at the US Embassy in Baghdad, and other organizations helped collect and distribute food, medicine, school supplies, backpacks, shoes, and other humanitarian supplies.
ICF also began building relationships with Iraqi nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other leaders, experts, and policy makers with a passion to help Iraq’s extremely vulnerable orphans.
A banquet organized in September 2007 in the international zone (IZ) in Baghdad drew support from Americans and Iraqis, and generated approximately $15,000 in seed money for the ICF.
In 2009, ICF was officially granted 501(c)(3) tax exempt status by the IRS.
Since 2009, ICF has launched several initiatives to help orphans and street children, including:
- Cosponsored a conference on orphans in Baghdad
- Developed, with the Children’s Village of New York, a “Community Care Worker” (CCW) training program to equip Iraqis to care for orphans with trauma and PTSD
- Provided monthly support for a year to orphans living in the City Dump
- Mobilized a “Surge of Love” flight, with FedEx support, to deliver a ton of school supplies, stuffed animals, and clothes from American donors to orphans in Iraq
- Rescued a Street Children Center in Baghdad after donor funding ran out and reopened it so 50 street kids and orphans can get tutoring, meals, recreation and compassionate care.
To learn more about the ICF story and our goal to bring hope and love to the children of Iraq, please read our annual reports