Needed: Love for a Baghdad orphanage
Thirteen-year-old Marwa never cried even when I asked her to relive the night her parents were executed in their home. It surprised me. I wondered how she’d become so tough so quickly.
"Where were you when the gunmen came?" I asked Marwa as we sat together in a classroom in Baghdad's Alwiya Orphanage where she now lives with her two younger sisters Alliya, 10, and Sora, 6.
"I was asleep upstairs when I head the shots," Marwa said. "I ran downstairs and saw my mother. She was shot all over and was dead. My father was barely alive."
Her father died two days later of multiple gunshot wounds.
I swallowed hard and asked what happened after that. 
"We lived with my uncle for about a year, and then came here."
"Why? Why did you have to come here?" I asked. I hated asking the question, but it bothered me that her uncle would send the girls to live in an orphanage. I wanted to know how Marwa rationalized it. She was very matter of fact.
"He couldn't afford to keep us, so he brought us here."
Out of chaos, routine
The orphanage was surprisingly clean and well organized. The girls all looked healthy and reasonably well cared for. Their lives were very regimented.
7:30 a.m. Wake up, followed by breakfast of bread and cheese.
8: 30 a.m. The girls go to school.
12:30 p.m. The girls return to the orphanage for lunch: chicken, rice and soda on the day we were there. (So many of the girls suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders that a caregiver at the orphanage told me they no longer serve drinks like soda at night because too many girls were wetting their beds.)
Alliya Hussein, 10, and Sora Hussein, 6, at Baghdad's Alwiya Orphanage. NBC News, Steve LoMonaco
1:00 p.m. Half-hour playtime or rest.
1:30 p.m. Two hours of extra study in classrooms at the orphanage.
3:30 p.m. a break. Some girls shower… others do laundry
4:00 p.m. Two more hours of study.
6:00 p.m. Free time. The girls can play or watch TV when the electricity works.
9:00 p.m. More chores, and then bedtime.
Little love
The girls we spoke to didn’t complain about all the studying, or the food or anything else I expected them to talk about. Most of all, with amazingly mature self-reflection, they said they were lonely.
All day, the girls would come up and hold my hand. I would talk to one girl and suddenly find another one come up behind me and slip her hand into my palm, or take hold my elbow.
"They need attention and there is no love here in Baghdad," a social worker told me. I hadn’t thought of it before.
Gun shots still
The experience had a profound affect on our entire crew. Our soundman Steve Lomonaco took dozens of pictures. The Nightly News foreign editor ML Flynn suggested that he post some of the pictures and write about what he felt.
I am lucky. I have a venue to talk about what I see and feel. It is a wonderful outlet, a way for me to release some of the stress. I am including some of Steve’s pictures and thoughts in this blog.
Tonight Marwa, Alliya, Sora and the 53 other girls at Baghdad’s Alwiya Orphanage are finishing up their extra studies and trying to go to sleep.
There are still gunshots throughout Baghdad everyday. Marwa said every time she hears the bang of muzzle fire she is reminded of the night her parents were killed. The lingering violence is also playing psychological games on her. Now when Marwa hears gunshots in the streets she said she thinks people are trying to shoot at her.
Girls with a teacher at Baghdad's Alwiya Orphanage. NBC News, Steve LoMonaco
The caregiver was right. Baghdad is a city where there is as little love as peace.
Covering the story
Veteran NBC News’ soundman Steve LoMonaco’s describes covering the story at Baghdad's Alwiya Orphanage:
We walked through a dark hall out to a courtyard where the girls, all orphans, were waiting for lunch.
As soon as we walked into the yard, chaos erupted. The kids rushed over and started to grab our hands, following us everywhere.
They were all saying, "Hay Meester, what’s your name?" They crowded around us everywhere we went. They seemed starved for attention. They were all smiles, but you could see sadness in their eyes.
Our shoot went well, although a little harder then usual because of all the kids jumping around. But it was a lot more enjoyable for the same reason. They all love to pose for pictures.
Most of us carry small digital still cameras, so when we had the chance we took pictures. After you would take a picture, the girls would run up to you so they could see it in the monitor. Then the next one would say, "Hey meester take my picture."
We ended up staying at the orphanage for over four hours and having an unexpectedly fun time.
By the time we left, this grizzled war weary crew was all smiles. Some of us even had thoughts of taking one of them home, but we all hoped that by airing this story it would inspire people to help. And maybe change some of the girls’ lives.
See Richard Engel's full report from Baghdad's Alwiya Orphanage on NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams on Friday evening.
Just another day in Baghdad
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We want to help. There are many of us here with so much to give. My husband wants to go to Iraq and bring the girls home to raise as our own - and we're retired. Any information that you can share that will enable us to help the children will be appreciated. Thank you for the most informative and touching story.
Lenore, Solana Beach, CA (Sent May 29, 2006 1:24:04 AM)
My Husband and I Live in Sweden and would like to help these children and are interested in adopting a children who is in need of love and care. Who can we contact?
Julie, Stockholm, Sweden (Sent May 29, 2006 5:41:41 AM)
Please send information on adopting.
Thank you.
Albert Slifko (Sent May 29, 2006 2:53:34 PM)
I feel very sad for these kids. I have had a rought ime raising my little girls here. I have 3 daughters ages 8, 11 and 12. I am a single father and it's been no easy task. I find it hard to sleep at night knowing my children could have a much better life. Reading this story has really touched me and also made me realize that my kids do actually have a very good life. I wish kids there in Iraq and across the world could all have lives similar to our own. I am not sure exactly what role the US govt plays in helping these kids but I can assure you they need to do more since we invaded Iraq I'm sure the orphan population numbers have shot up dramatically. Who's to blame? Does it matter? Who can help? WE CAN!!!
Mike Magarian (Sent May 29, 2006 5:51:14 PM)
Richard, I do thank you for these kind of Articles. I am an Iraqi student abroad and I do appreciate when you are talking about the Iraqi pain. It is amazing when I see the comments of all of these people asking to donate, help and adapt these girls. The problem that people are facing in Iraq is much more than money. It can't be solved by giving them money or cloths but it is a nice gest that you care. It is a real lost that you are going to be in Beirut. You much fit in Baghdad with all of the experiance you have.
Saad (Sent May 29, 2006 7:21:12 PM)
As the teenage daughter of a social studies teacher, I have always been the odd bird of my friends because of my fascination with current events. When I watched this broadcast with my father on Friday, I started crying for those children. I would love to help in any way that I can. These children are the future of Iraq, somebody has got to do something to ensure that they will be prepared to lead it.
Rachel, Norfolk, VA (Sent May 29, 2006 7:51:58 PM)
Great story. But, a follow-up story including information about what people can do to help would be most appreciated. Any chance of Americans adopting these little girls? Where can people send financial help? Etc.
Tyler & Deirdre Johnson (Sent May 29, 2006 10:10:36 PM)
Please tell us what we can do to help them! Thank you!
Toby Rice, Williamsburg, MA (Sent May 30, 2006 7:50:23 AM)
Thank you for bringing this need to our attention. How can we help? Please let us know (and let the kids know that there are many people in America who care about them).
Mary Thompson (Sent May 30, 2006 9:53:06 AM)
How to adopt one or more of these girls???????????????????????????????
L Wagner Colorado Springs, CO (Sent May 30, 2006 9:59:57 AM)
Thank you for this wonderful story. Please send info on how we can help these beautiful children.
Cynthia, Miami, FL (Sent May 30, 2006 10:19:53 AM)
Contact this organization. They work with this particular orphanage. Donations can go there.
The French humanitarian organization Enfants du Monde - Droits de l'Homme (EMDH), with support from Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and other members of the All Our Children consortium, brings fresh vegetables, fruit and meat to 17 children's institutions around Iraq.
"These institutions were not receiving sufficient fresh food under the sanctions," said Steve Weaver, MCC emergency consultant in Iraq, and field coordinator for All Our Children. "EMDH has been supplying children's homes here since 1997."
Syerra (Sent May 30, 2006 10:21:19 AM)
Please give us an address I'd like to help these children.
Luisa Burgio
Luisa Burgio 10425 N.W. 8th Court, Coral Springs, FL 33071 (Sent May 30, 2006 10:27:31 AM)
Reading this story brought tears to my eyes. How do you go about adoption and also bringing the children to the United States?
Sandy Thompson, Stone Mountain Georgia (Sent May 30, 2006 10:29:59 AM)
Along with everyone else: How to adopt orphaned Iraqi children????
Mike TN (Sent May 30, 2006 10:37:26 AM)
Richard,
Great story! It tugs at my heart. I am just repeating what everyone is asking? How can we help? What can we
do? Who can we contact? How do we donate, volunteer, or just send card or letters. Help us Richard, so we
can help these wonderful children who only need some love.
Kathie Toopes Libertyville, Illinois (Sent May 30, 2006 10:43:45 AM)
Are these girls in this orphanage available for adoption? If yes, can you please provide details? If no, what can we do to help make their lives a little better? Thank you.
Linda Meyerhoeffer, St. Peters, MO (Sent May 30, 2006 10:44:35 AM)
As an adoptive parent and parent of 2 of my own children, I am sadden that children who can be adopted are sitting there in an orphange. If at all possible can't our diplomats doing something about adopting some of these children. More information on how to adopt these children would be helpful.
Nelson Abreu, Pittstion, PA (Sent May 30, 2006 10:45:30 AM)
How to adopt??? Would love to have a sibling pair.
Cheryl, Charleston, WV (Sent May 30, 2006 10:45:51 AM)
I am responding to the comments on this blog about how it might be inappropriate for Americans to be adopting Muslim or Arab children. Personally, I see absolutely no reason why such should be the case. Children need love and caring, and why can't the care come from some adult who is of a different ethnicity or a different faith than the child? Occupier or not, non-Muslim, non-Arab, human beings are human beings, and we all need love. Given the outpouring of love I read from the comments on this board, these children can do far worse than be adopted by some of these people.
Byron Raum, Beverly Hills, CA (Sent May 30, 2006 10:46:32 AM)
The stories are heart wrenching, an yet more and more children are becoming orphaned everyday we remain there.perhaps they didn't have the best of life before, BUT ! They did have their parents and the love of loving parents.At this rate all the adults will be killed and nothing left but a country of orphaned children. GOD BLESS THEM AND KEEP THEM.
Elsie Gamble 70 Clifford Street Hamden CT 06517 (Sent May 30, 2006 10:46:55 AM)
Let me know what organization to get a hold of for the possibility of an adoption? Let me know ASAP! Thanks.
Eddie Somers (Sent May 30, 2006 10:48:26 AM)
My husband and I have 3 adopted American children. Would love to adopt and give the American dream to children like these. Is it possible?
Lori Fuller, Owasso, Oklahoma (Sent May 30, 2006 11:06:02 AM)
Each your, our elementary school students in New Canaan, Ct. look for a charity to donate their school store profits. I would like to present this story to them but ask of you what could be donated to make these girls lives a little happier. We could also give out names so that our students could write to the girls. Please let me know. Thank you.
Catherine Solimano, New Canaan, Ct. (Sent May 30, 2006 11:06:08 AM)
Richard: This story is so sad. My heart goes out to those children. Is there any way that we can write to them and send them care packages? I truly hope that they will someday find good families who will love and care for them. May God bless them and keep them safe.
Lillian Cruz, Colonia, NJ (Sent May 30, 2006 11:17:55 AM)
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