My name is Erica Henley and I live with my family in Newcastle, New South Wales. For as long as I can remember I have wanted equality for all humankind and restoration of dignity to those traumatised and in need.

I have advocated and volunteered with and for refugees here in Australia and overseas for many years. For the past four years the call by God on my life has extended to travelling as a humanitarian volunteer to Greece in 2016 and Kurdistan,Northern Iraq in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

I started as a volunteer in Australia with individual families and projects, then helped in church and community-based groups.   This led to the formation of a little group of friends in 2016 called Operation Hope – all of us with a common purpose to help refugees.

In 2018 my husband and I registered Operation Hope Australia Ltd as a not for profit company – which also reflects our long term commitment to the projects of Operation Hope.  We are now a registered Australian charity and a benevolent institution.

Each trip has brought new challenges, new projects and new friendships with these beautiful people. It is a honour to share love and hope and bring some measure of dignity to the internally displaced people and to contribute to existing projects occuring in Kurdistan.  

Thank you all, and especially my husband Kim, for the love, prayers, support and encouragement you have given to me which is enabling me to fulfil my hopes and dreams for these precious people in Kurdistan.