Iraqi Women Association Fund is a non-religious non-sectarian charity. It was founded by British women of Iraqi descent in 1990, after the second Gulf war. Its main work today is to help the poor, particularly widows and orphans in Iraq by providing medical aid, clothing, accommodation and also education for illiterate mothers and children, most of whom are living in desperate poverty.

IWAF has teamed up with other organisations to teach basic reading and writing skills, run sewing courses and fund small projects such as starting a home bakery business. These courses are mostly taught by women to victims of terror acts, bombings, and those displaced on racial and ethnicity grounds.

The Charity supports activities for children such as enrichment lessons for those who are struggling at school, organising children’s play groups during holidays and providing emotional support to the orphans and those exposed to terror attacks.

Also, IWAF strongly believes that education is the only way out of poverty therefore, trying to keep the children in school by working with educational charities by supporting sponsorship programmes. This also helps in reducing child labour.

A member of IWAF charity visited Kafil Al-yateem orphans’ school five years ago and was greatly saddened to see children fainting during assembly time due to hunger and starvation. Children there may go without food for two days at a time as the school has access only to bare basic necessities. Her visit prompted IWAF to start a school meals programme based on their model in Kingston, by teaming up with a local organisation. Proudly this has caught up there and other humanitarian groups are now participating in this project as well.