Women Religious Bring Christmas to Iraq

Aid to the Church in Need is helping the Chaldean sisters with this project for the third Christmas in a row. The nuns will soon bring a van full of cheese, canned meat, powdered milk, sugar, soap and other such items, to Zakho and the surrounding region, near the Syria-Turkey border.

The international charity funds the project with €25,000 ($36,800).

The group's project coordinator for Iraq, Marie-Ange Siebrecht, said she saw during her recent trip to the area that the sisters are much appreciated for their work.

"What they are doing will give many people a real boost this Christmas and remind them that they are not alone -- that their brothers and sisters in faith elsewhere are thinking about them and trying to help," she said.

The food packages will benefit thousands, with priority for the elderly, disabled and others with special needs.