One man's quest to give Iraqi orphans a second chance

Iraqi Safe House

In the sectarian violence that followed the 2003 American invasion, countless Iraqi families were torn apart. The UN estimates that 870,000 children have lost one or both parents. The Iraqi government puts the number at 5 million. 

After seeing how many ragged children lived in the streets of Baghdad, Hicham al-Dhahabi, then a street vendor, founded ‘The Iraqi Safe House for Creativity’ – an orphanage and school for boys with no viable families.

Street kids are prime targets for recruitment by criminals, militias and terror groups. Since 2003, more than 150 boys have passed through the orphanage. For Hicham, the stakes extend far beyond the children in his care: ‘We’ll reap what we’ve sown. You can't expect children who didn't have rights growing up to respect the rights of others’.