Tag: Featured

2021 Garden of Hope Appeal

The garden is growing…. the healing is starting

Operation Hope Australia are so excited to be partnering with NGO Springs of Hope in their garden project they are establishing in the Shariya Camp, Duhok, Kurdistan.
The Garden will serve as an educational hub for the Shariya Camp schools and the Hope Centre classrooms providing volunteer opportunities for students to develop skills in agriculture/cultivation practices, environmental sustainability and social entrepreneurship. Social enterprises such as selling honey and making and selling soap and beeswax products (lotion, lip balm etc) will provide further skills and income opportunities for the children, youth and women rescuers of the Shariya Camp being served at the Hope Centre, the students of the Shariya camp schools and the larger community.


TIMELINE:
• Nov 2020: NGO Springs of Hope broke ground for the garden at Shariya Camp with the approval of local and regional government and camp officials.
• Feb 2021: erection of Garden fence and greenhouses, soil and sheep manure delivered, water tanks installed and planting beds marked. 40 Bare root fruit trees planted and vegetables seedlings were planted in the greenhouses
• March 2021: small groups of youth visit the Garden to start their Diary program.
• April 2021: Opportunities for rescuees to volunteer in the Garden and to receive agricultural education and the therapeutic benefits of working in the garden. Employees will be hired from the community at the Shariya Camp.
• September 2021: establishment of The Garden chicken and bee habitats and arrival of bees and chickens to provide honey and eggs to the 210 rescuers.
• December 2021: completion of the The Garden and building plans with raised beds, planted vegetables and fruit trees will be growing and harvested for distribution to the rescuees at the Hope Centre and larger camp community.
• December 2022: The garden will be regularly providing fresh vegetables and fruit as well as honey and eggs. A farm shop, coffee/tea shop, garden education room and courtyard with fountain will be built and operational.

BUDGET: Garden Building : USD32,200
Garden Monthly expenditure: USD2,300

DONATE:
Please DONATE generously to assist with the establishment of the “Garden of Hope” for the 210 x women, children and youth recently released from ISIS captivity.

See the DONATE button our home page: http://www.operationhopeaustralia.com
100% of your donations will be remitted to The Garden of Hope project. Donations over $2 are tax deductible.


Photo credits: Sohf Lisa at Shariya camp March 2021

2021 Garden of Hope Appeal

International Womens Day 8 March 2021

Today we Launch  “2021 Garden of Hope Appeal” to make a positive difference and to bring hope to ISIS survivors in Kurdistan and Iraq.

Please donate generously to assist in the building of a Garden of Hope in the Shariya camp, Duhok, Kurdistan.

Simply click the DONATE button on our home page – all credit cards are accepted

Vale: Rev Rob Bos

Vale Rev Robert Bos.

We are very saddened by the news that our friend Rob has passed away in Melbourne following a courageous battle with cancer. Our deepest love and sympathy to Ainslie and their families.

Rob was a gentle man who had a profound affect on so many lives – whether in his ministry to congregations, writing resources and Christian education materials or in his work in communities – Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, India, Kurdistan and many other places.

I remember using one of Rob & Ainslie’s resource booklets in our home group in Brisbane in 2015. The following year they moved to West End and we met at the Uniting Church and had a brief period of connection and friendship before Kim and I moved to Newcastle.

Both Rob and Ainslie followed and support the projects of Operation Hope from the beginning in 2016. They journeyed with us as team members to Kurdistan, Northern Iraq in May 2017.

Not even the harsh heat of that summer deterred Rob from picking up a paint brush to finish painting the interior of the new emergency field hospital in a refugee camp 20kms from Mosul. Rob joined a group of American volunteers on a weekend visit to the ancient Chaldean village of Alqosh and heard of the work occurring at the New Hope Trauma Centre assisting refugees from the nearby camps.

He diligently wrote up an extensive report of our trip to Kurdistan that has meant we have maintained links with the New Hope Trauma Centre and their leaders.

A life well lived. Rest in Peace my friend.

Comments from fellow team member Leanne Rogers:

This is sad news Erica. The world has lost a brilliant man and heaven has gained a saint. I remember so fondly the wisdom of both Rob and Ainslie as we gathered together on the roof of our house in Iraq each evening, and shared stories from the Bible. These are times I cherish and will never forget. Condolences to Ainslie and the family. He will be missed greatly.