Dwight giving the medicine to Dr. Al Alia and his staff. More boxes behind them.

Looking over the top of the original Isktar Gate in Babylon.

Our shipment of medicine will help Iraqi children like these boys

Ruins and Hussein’s palace

Bare supply cabinets and sweltering heat take a heavy toil on patients in Iraqi hospitals like the one in Al Hillah. The ruins of King Nebuchadnezzar’s once-magnificent Babylon sit in the distance; as does a palace once owned by Saddam Hussein. The former leadership now destroyed, Al Hillah’s people continue their struggle to survive. See how our partners have helped them! In early June and on behalf of Operation Blessing, the US Marines began transporting and delivering donated medicines worth $1.3 million to hospitals in southern Iraq. On June 24th Operation Blessing’s Dwight Lohrenz took a day trip to meet some of the medical professionals and their patients that had received the critically needed medicines. At 6 a.m. the Vietnam veteran helicopter pilot went to an airbase in Kuwait where he strapped into a CH-53 helicopter with several US soldiers. Their destination was Al Hillah.

It was 118 degrees Fahrenheit when Dwight arrived at Al Hillah. In the un-air-conditioned facility hospital director Dr. Al Alia and his chief of surgery Dr. Hasama stressed their patient’s serious need for the simple things. Resources had run out long before the war began. Their patients were needlessly suffering. Dwight walked with them into the normally empty supply closet where boxes of the OBI donated medicines were now stacked against the wall. He asked Dr. Al Alia if the hospital was better off now than this time last year. The dedicated man gratefully said yes.

However, the Iraqi people still need a lot of help to rebuild the human services of their country. Captain Carole Finamore is a nurse with the U.S. forces and works with the Al Hillah Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center (HACC). As liaison between the healthcare community and the coalition forces, she looks forward to seeing more shipments of supplies and medicines arrive into the area.

Operation Blessing continues relief efforts in Iraq. This month the third Operation Blessing medical team will cross the ocean to begin working in Basra. Led by Dr. Kim Pascual of Operation Blessing Philippines, seven American and three Filipino volunteers will help Iraqi medical professionals treat patients until August 3rd.

The needs at the Basra hospitals are great and more supplies are critically needed. With your help our team can deliver more aid while they are there.

In loving memory of Dwight Lohrenz, May 31, 1947 - January 7, 2004.

During his time with Operation Blessing, Dwight lovingly touched the lives of thousands of desperately poor people around the globe. During his last trip to Iraq, Dwight had a direct hand in delivering life-saving medicine. His dedication during this and other missions continue to have a life-changing impact on those who were helped as well as those who worked alongside him. Dwight was a shining example of a man of honor who made the world a better place.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

 

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