Iraq · since 2003

Iraq Orphans Project

“Whomsoever provides for an orphan in this life, he and I will live like brothers in the next” — a saying of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Our signature program works within — not against — cultural and religious norms for a lasting solution to one of Iraq’s most intractable problems: an estimated 2.5 to 5 million orphans as of 2008. Rather than adoption or orphanages, we support the families who have taken in the children of deceased loved ones, delivering food, medicine, and material support through a network of on-the-ground partners, including three of Iraq’s oldest and most respected charitable organizations.

One-year sponsorships currently reach families from Mosul to Basrah, the Orphans’ Khayrat al-Mosul Village, the Dar Al Amin Iraqi Safe House for Orphans in Sadr City, and individual families of widows and orphaned girls.

2.5–5M
Orphans in Iraq (2008 estimate)
3
Long-standing local partner organizations
Iraqi boys flashing peace signs and smiling for the camera
Somalia · medical & education

Clinics, schools, and wells near Mogadishu

From Xadhadhan to Bunhodle, we support two clinics, a school, and an agriculture program that spans well-drilling, water storage, and irrigation.

We’ve shipped a full container of medical equipment and supplies to the 450-bed Hawa Abdi Foundation Hospital near Mogadishu, and fund staff and long-term development at a rural clinic in Xadhadhan — a community that had never before had any healthcare facility, and where many patients are nomads traveling long distances for treatment of cholera and malnutrition.

The clinic now provides maternity care, nutrition screening, prenatal and postpartum care, and midwife training, alongside community education in basic hygiene and disease prevention.

450-bed
Hawa Abdi Foundation Hospital supplied
~900
Patients treated in a single recent quarter at Xadhadhan clinic
Somali women holding hand-written signs thanking the Alalusi Foundation
El Salvador · latest project

Rebuilding the Dar Ibrahim school

Our most recently completed project is the renovation and expansion of the Dar Ibrahim school in San Salvador, and the restoration of the masjid and community center in the village of Nahuizalco, in the south of the country.

The finished campus includes classrooms, a dormitory housing 50-plus students, dining rooms, a library, meeting rooms, and administration offices. The school and masjid were founded by Dr. Armando Bukele, the educator credited with bringing Islam to El Salvador, and are today led by his son, Imam Emerson Bukele, alongside teacher Mahmoud Abol Fotooh.

50+
Student dormitory capacity
2
Sites renovated: school and masjid/community center
A dedication plaque thanking the Hispanic-American Islamic Community for funding a water well, Ramadan 1445 / April 2024
Afghanistan · clean water

A solar water project changes daily life

A single donor-funded solar water pump now serves hundreds of families in a remote Afghan mountain village — work carried out with our partner, Afghan Relief.

Before the project, children walked for miles up and down the mountainside to fetch water for their families, a journey that had cost lives. “All of us at Afghan Relief thank you for your continued support,” wrote Dr. Farid Senzai of Afghan Relief. “They were all making dua for you.”

The Foundation also supports the educational mission of two schools in Afghanistan through the Children of Afghanistan Hope Project, providing orphan boys and women with basic education and technical training.

Hundreds
Of families now served by clean water
2
Partner schools supported for boys and women
Two elderly Afghan men in traditional dress at a Foundation relief distribution
Jordan · medical missions

Audiology, psychiatry, and art therapy for refugees

Our 2017 medical mission to Amman brought a team of audiology experts, psychiatrists, a physical therapist, an Ob-Gyn, and an art therapist to serve Syrian and Iraqi refugees.

Eighty hearing aids and audiology devices were fitted and distributed — roughly 40 at the Souriyat Across Borders (SAB) center, and the rest across refugee camps. Psychiatrists Dr. Saad Shakir and Dr. Hala Fattah saw mostly Iraqi refugee patients at the Noor Al Hussein Foundation’s Institute of Family Health, at SAB, and at the Homs League Abroad (HLA) center — a facility housing 28 families of widows, children, and grandmothers.

Volunteer Saadia Hameed went on to raise funds for the Rooms of Resilience and Zakat for Widows projects, supporting art rooms and playgrounds at both HLA and SAB.

80
Hearing aids & audiology devices fitted (2017 mission)
28
Families of widows and children housed at HLA, Amman
Children playing games together in a courtyard in Jordan

Also supporting

Smaller programs, the same standard of care.

Beyond our five active regions, the Foundation has funded higher-education scholarships for promising students in technical and medical fields, a school and water wells in Mauritania, a livestock program for rural families in China, preservation of medieval manuscript libraries in Mali, support for preserving Native American traditional culture, and relief for bonded and indentured individuals across West Africa.

Mauritania — Dar al-Salam Mahdara school & wells Higher education scholarships China — livestock program Mali — manuscript preservation Native American cultural preservation West Africa — bonded-labor relief

There is no paid staff between our work and the family it reaches.

If you’d like to learn more, volunteer, or partner with us on a project, we’d love to hear from you.

Get in touch →