From: Sahar Ali – California-USA

Marwa’s Story

Marwa, a twelve year old orphan girl, who came to the US through a humanitarian organization.  This organization offered support to war victims, especially for children.    Marwa’s house was accidentally destroyed by a missile that was targeting insurgents.  She was with her mother and her cousin in the house.  Unfortunately, the attack took her mother’s life and left her and her cousin bleeding with shrapnel all over their bodies. 

Marwa lost part of her nose and her right thumb.  It was devastating for her to see her mother being killed in front of her eyes.  Furthermore, she was being teased by the school children for her deformed looking nose.  Then Marwa decided to quit school and stay home for a couple of years.  This organization found her and found a hosting family and a hospital to care for her with no charge.  She came and made four major surgeries to repair her nose.  For the last moth and a half, she came to stay with me.  I felt it was a blessing to care for an orphan girl.  I expected a very timid, scared girl, but to my surprise she was the opposite.  She was very funny, outgoing and happy child.  I took her to school, where I worked; she made many friends and learned to speak English.  Marwa went back to Iraq and went back to school. 

I learned so much from her, I learned to be positive and never take thing for granted.