Our Bridge is a non-political, religiously independent aid organization that works to protect, feed, educate, deal with the past and provide future prospects for orphans, half-orphans and children with disabilities in the crisis areas of northern Iraq. Founded in September 2014 by Paruar Bako, Our Bridge is a non-profit association registered in Oldenburg and a registered NGO registered in Khanke, Iraq. The association is led full-time by Paruar Bako, is organized by 10 volunteers in Germany and employs 30 employees (25 teachers, 1 director, 1 educator, 1 bus driver, 1 gardener, 1 security guard) permanently employed in Iraq. Our Bridge is financed by a sponsorship program that connects sponsors in Germany with a sponsored child in Iraq. The sponsors in Germany pay a monthly contribution of 30 euros to cover the costs of protection, food and care for the child. The sponsorship program is the foundation on which Our Bridge was founded and built. Almost half of our teachers are also displaced people from Shingal who were forced to migrate regionally to escape the persecution of the Islamic State. The schools in Shingal were mostly destroyed or used as prisons and slave markets for months. The teachers share the children's fate and miss the same home, the same peace and the same childhood. This often makes it easier for them to build a trusting relationship with the children.
