Healing Hearts in the Midst of Horror
IRAQ―Preemptive Love Coalition provides lifesaving heart surgeries for Iraqi children in pursuit of peace between communities at odds. By training locals, they are committed to giving Iraqi doctors the tools and expertise they need to serve their own children. This is about dignity over dependence, hope over handouts. For years now, Iraqis have been trained to believe help comes from outside the country, but Preemptive Love is committed to making Iraqis the ultimate heroes as they become the solution their children so desperately need. Journonews caught up with Preemptive Love Coalition’s Communication Director, Matthew Willingham, currently in Iraq. How did you personally become involved in Preemptive Love Coalition? I followed their work while in college and admired their ethos and approach to caring for people. I also admired their desire to work where few others were willing to go, so my wife and I visited in 2010 and moved to Iraq shortly thereafter. What are the biggest challenges facing Preemptive Love Coalition right now? Working in Iraq is a pretty big challenge in-and-of-itself, even when extremist …