Walk for Iraq was initially pioneered by Nadia Al-Shadhir in June 2007 with a group of enthusiastic walkers in the United Kingdom (UK) to raise awareness of the humanitarian situation in Iraq.  A 19 km walk was organised for 30 people in the south coast of England, UK.  A staggering £20,000 was raised for the International Committee of the Red Cross by the walkers to fund life saving activities in Iraq.

Due to the success of the walk, the movement was later picked up in Auckland, New Zealand (NZ) and Toronto, Canada. Raising an impressive $40,000 between them, funds were donated to Iraqi Refugees of Refugees International and to the Iraq Appeal fund of The Canadian Red Cross.

Other successful walks were organised in 2008, one in Auckland, New Zealand by Saba Issa and her team, on Saturday 17th of May 2008, raising at least 17,747.02$NZ and one in Ottowa, Canada by Zahra Al-Aubiydy and her team  on Saturday 28th of June 2008, raising over $2510.00 Canadian Dollars. All the funds raised from these two walks have been donated to UNICEF's emergency relief fund for Iraqi children

Both walks produced an astounding list of achievements, from extensive media coverage (leading news channels and newspapers), to welcoming the minister of ethnic affairs Chris Carter on the NZ walk, to being described as the one of the most successful fundraising initiatives the Canadian Red Cross have ever seen for the Middle East.

 Natasha wrote at 23:39 on 26 November 2008

"On Saturday 17th of May 2008, Saba Issa and her team organised a walk in Auckland, New Zealand raising at least 17,747.02$NZ to assist UNICEF's efforts in Iraq, in particular the welfare of Iraqi children."

I'd just like to thank Saba and her team for organising an awesome walk in NZ...as someone who's never done Walk for Iraq before and didn't know much about it I have to say it's one of the best fundraising activities I've been involved in. Anyone who's interested and not Iraqi - sign up and do it! I'm from India and it was lovely to get involved in something that is run by young people from their own community, especially in a small country like NZ that seems removed from the situation. Thanks Saba! xxx"

A Global team has now been set up due to the worldwide interest in the movement and the project is now moving to other cities around the world. Just a glimpse of what countries will be hosting Walk for Iraq for 2008:

Holland
Qatar
Oman
UAE
New Zealand
Ottowa, Canada
Boston, USA
Chicago, USA
Kansas, USA
Los Angeles , USA
Washington DC , USA
New York , USA
Melbourne, Austraila