In recent weeks, Israel-based aid organization IsraAID has been stepping up its program to aid Yazidi and Christian displaced persons in northern Iraq.

More than 18,000 Yazidis and  Christians are living in camps after fleeing from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

One of those displaced people Shehab, told his story:

“When Daesh (ISIS) entered Sinjar we fled to mountains for 7 days and took refuge in a Yazidi temple. We then found our way to this camp. We have been here for 7 months. I am here with my wife and our two children – a boy 1.5 years old and a 4 month year old baby girl who was born in the camp. The life here is very hard; our children are traumatized by what they saw and experienced after Daesh attacked our home.”

IsraAID’s staff has distributed more than 3,000 winter items, including blankets and mattresses, for the internally displaced persons and refugees who have been offered shelter in the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI). With temperatures often dropping below freezing during the winder, the need for these items is very real

During the past year over 2.1 million people have been displaced by ISIS. Of those, 1 million have found shelter in KRI, so IsraAid’s efforts only help a small portion of those who have been uprooted.

IsraAID plans to expand its operations in the KRI during the remaining days of winter and beyond. In addition to distributing items to help the displaced people cope with the winter, IsraAID also plans to start education projects for children in order “to bring stability and safety to a population scarred by months of violence and chaos.”

[Photo: Courtesy of IsraAID ]