Connecting donors to refugees in Kurdistan, Kurdish BCF signs deal with German group

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A local organization has teamed up with a German group to help bridge the divide between donors and the hundreds of thousands of those in need in the Kurdistan Region.

The Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding with the German Wings of Help (LOG) to collect humanitarian aid in Europe and deliver it to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) through the local organization.

The memorandum was signed by LOG President, Frank Franke, and the head of BCF office in Erbil, Karzan Nouri.

According to the agreement, LOG will collect humanitarian aid from Germany and other European nations to send to the Kurdistan Region. Relief packages will then be distributed to IDPs and refugees in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq by BCF staff.

BCF will reportedly also provide logistic support and task staff for distribution to those most in need in the camps.

The agreement will last until the end of 2019, after which it will be subject to renewal.

LOG has previous experience with the BCF, delivering aid to the Kurdistan Region’s refugees and IDPs.

Following the emergence of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria in 2014, 1.8 million refugees and IDPs from Syria and other parts of Iraq fled to the Kurdistan Region. Since then, some have returned to their liberated areas, but the Kurdish semi-autonomous region remains a haven for 1.4 million escaping violence.

BCF is one of the more active organizations among local and international charity groups, providing humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of IDPs in the Kurdistan Region for over a decade.

It was founded in 2005 and strives to honor the great legacy of Malla Mustafa Barzani, the leader of the Kurdish Liberation Movement and a prominent figure in the founding of the contemporary Kurdish nation.

Editing by Nadia Riva