Otago dental students have created a 100% not-for-profit charity that seeks to improve the crumbling healthcare system in war-torn Iraq.
The charity is called Iraqi Children's Aid and Repair Endeavour (ICARE), and is the first of its kind operating in New Zealand. There are an estimated 5 million orphans in Iraq, more than the entire population of New Zealand, who have zero access to healthcare and no voice within society to ask for it.
ICARE currently has a number of projects underway, including a child-sponsoring programme to fund life-saving surgeries for orphans, a volunteer plan to send NZ health professionals to volunteer in Iraqi hospitals (which kicks off at the end of this year), and their 'Recipes for Prevention' scheme which aims to educate Iraqi women and children about how to improve general and oral health.
To fund this project, ICARE is selling a bunch of awesome keyrings and an Iraqi cookbook, 200 copies of which have been sold so far.
For more information on how to support ICARE in any of its ongoing projects, visit www.iraqicare.com or the ICARE Facebook and Youtube channels.
GUNS AND EXPLOSIONS = NO DENTISTS
