We train Iraqi doctors and nurses to save kids' lives inside Iraq...
We also send kids outside Iraq for lifesaving heart surgeries when necessary.
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Chemical Warfare, Sanctions, & Intra-Family Marriage
Experts think that Saddam Hussein’s 281 chemical attacks and experiments on the Kurds of northern Iraq contribute to the high rate of life-threatening heart disease among children in the region today.
Others cite U.N. sanctions and the massive spike in infant and child mortality throughout the mid-nineties for many of the problems among children and youth in Iraq today. Widespread corruption and the deliberate withholding of essential human services led to rampant malnutrition and disease in Iraq on a scale so vast that it led to the resignations of the U.N. Coordinator for Iraq and other U.N. leaders. The sanctions were widely criticized by U.S. and world policy-makers for never really harming Saddam.
Intra-family marriage—a practice common in tribal societies and reinforced by histories of ethnic cleansing—is still practiced by many today and probably also contributes to the prevalence of these diseases.
Founding of Buy Shoes. Save Lives. and the Preemptive Love Coalition
In July 2007, Jeremy & Jessica Courtney and Cody Fisher came face-to-face with the overwhelming reality of thousands of children waiting in line for life-saving heart surgery. With a background in grant-writing and fundraising, the trio knew that they did not want to start a traditional non-profit. They determined to make the markets bend in favor of the outcast, underdog children of Iraq.
The Courtneys and Fisher launched Buy Shoes. Save Lives. to generate critical funding through a creative blending of commerce and compassion. They loved the traditional handmade Kurdish shoes and they suspected that others around the world might like them as well—especially when the purchase of every pair of Klash would help fund a life-saving heart surgery for an Iraqi child.
As this movement gained momentum, more staff was added and the Preemptive Love Coalition was officially incorporated in February 2008, immediately multiplying the means through which people could come together to save lives.
Through our Remedy Missions - international surgical missions we bring into Iraq to provide immediate surgeries and long-term training of Iraqi healthcare professionals - we train Iraqi doctors and nurses toward long-term self-sufficiency so they can serve their people without the help of outsiders. We don't know what the future holds, but it looks extremely hopeful for thousands of Iraqi children with a Klash-wearing coalition like you on their side.
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