Before 2014 and the destruction brought about by ISIS, Qaraqosh/Bahkdida, on the Nineveh Plains, was the largest Christian town in Iraq in a crucial agricultural region of the country. So many of the 250 farms were devoted to chicken farming that it became known as “Chicken City”, and these farms supplied poultry to grocery stores and restaurants throughout Iraq. Other farms raised sheep and cattle. With their former livelihoods in ruins, many farmers left, but a faithful, tough, and courageous group remained. They need our help to rebuild what ISIS destroyed.

Since 2018, SWIC, working closely with International Christian Concern (ICC), has implemented its Family Farm Initiative (FFI) and helped reconstitute 25 family-operated chicken farms and four sheep farms, all of which are self-sufficient today. These 29 farms contribute to the livelihoods of over 3,000 people down the commercial poultry network and touch the lives of countless more with hope. They are also profitable beyond SWIC’s and ICC’s most optimistic projections.

Funding a family farm is the easiest way you can help Iraqi Christians.