The Iraqi Red Crescent Society in Al-Muthanna province held a celebration in honor of International Day for Orphans at the Samawa Youth Forum Hall. Many officials attended the event, foremost among them the president of Al-Muthanna’s provincial council, Abdel Hussein Al-Thalemi.

The celebration line-up included plays on life in Iraq after the fall of the former regime as well as recreational games. The Red Crescent Society also gave out gifts to the orphaned children.

Provincial Council President Al-Thalemi said that “orphans need special care and attention by all sectors of society. Taking care of them is a humanitarian and a religious duty.”

Al-Thalemi thanked the Iraqi Red Crescent workers in Al-Muthanna for holding the event, which he said, “put a smile on the lips of orphaned children, who are in utmost need of festivities such as this since they help them feel they are part of society and not forgotten.”

President of the Red Crescent Society in Al-Muthanna Jabar Kamel Al-Obeidi explained that “the goal of the celebration is to put a smile back on the faces of orphaned children and try to alleviate the harsh conditions they have witnessed as a consequence of violence, dispersal, and migration.”

At the end of the event, Iraqi Red Crescent workers handed out 500 gifts to the orphans. They included school backpacks and sports equipment.

Al-Muthanna province is located 280km southwest of Baghdad and is home to a number of humanitarian organizations concerned with orphaned children. They include the Imam Al-Sadiq Institution, which cares for more than 750 orphans, as well as the Samawa Charitable Institution, which cares for scores of orphans.

In addition, a school for orphans recognized by the Ministry of Education recently opened. It works to educate these children and provide them with daily meals, clothing, and schoolbooks.