Iraqi Assyrians, Chicken Farmers Rebuild Their Lives in the Nineveh Plains
By Lynette Wilson
Ghazwan holding chicks at a farm previously destroyed by ISIS. ( International Christian Concern/Stand With Iraqi Christians)
At a cost of $5 each, chicks are helping Iraq's Christian chicken farmers rebuild their livelihoods in the Nineveh Plains, a region historically home to Jesus' followers dating back to his time on Earth.
With the cooperation of the farmers, Stand With Iraqi Christians and the nonpartisan, ecumenical International Christian Concern, the first of two chicken farms are up and running as part of an economic revitalization program aimed at reestablishing farmers in this area of Iraq known as "Chicken City" prior to its occupation and destruction by ISIS, or the Islamic State.
"The SWIC initiative in chicken farming speaks to the need for sustainable economic development in a region devastated by violent conflict. The local commercial infrastructure, being destroyed during the fight to reclaim territory from ISIS, needs to be restored to its former levels for job creation and food production," said the Rev. Robert D. Edmunds, The Episcopal Church's Middle East partnership officer, in a press release. "This is a far-reaching effort to start to reclaim hope for a prosperous future for the people of the Nineveh Plain."
Read more at: http://aina.org/news/20190613182538.htm
Good to see a smile on his face!
