Dear Friends - I need your help in brainstorming ways to get a package to a family in Diyala Province, Iraq. Here’s the story: a nine-year-old Iraqi girl named Teeba was injured and severely disfigured in a roadside blast in 2006. A local family here in Cleveland heard the story and figured out a way to temporarily adopt her. For the past four years she has been undergoing surgeries (pro bono) at a local hospital to reconstruct her body and face.
Sadly, her family back in Iraq doesn’t have Internet access, so they’ve spoken to their daughter briefly on the phone but haven’t seen a picture of her in four years. Teeba’s adopted family here in Cleveland would very much like to send a small packet of pictures and letters to her real family back in Iraq. They have tried UPS/DHL (incredibly expensive and no guarantee of arrival), and had a package mailed within the Iraqi mail system (never arrived).
I have a general address, but in this village (Al-Khwalis Village in Diyala Province) there are no street numbers or anything like that. We’ve also had a friend at the Iraqi embassy attempt to find this family, but they couldn’t figure it out.
I believe the only way to make this work would be to have the package of pictures hand-delivered. This little girl’s family would love to see her new face and read her letters. Any idea how we can make that happen?