ARI has been involved in projects designed to assist the poor and vulnerable In Iraq. Many lives were lost under Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime. Genocide against the Kurdish people in Iraq left more than 188,000 men missing and thousands of women widowed and children fatherless.

ARI has already provided small micro-loans for more than sixty widows of this genocide and has recently expanded the project. Another small loans and savings project has been started in Hardan village, where more than fifty widows live and everyone in the community has lost at least one family member because of the genocide.

Thirty ladies were given a small loan to be paid back over twelve months. When the loans are repaid the money will be redistributed to other widows within the community. Most of the ladies were excited to purchase a cow with their loan. A cow represents food for the family, income from the milk products and a small return to the life they once had.