Newcastle's Erica Henley refers to herself as an "ordinary women", yet a kind endeavour which led to a generous donation from Dubbo Private Hospital will help thousands of displaced people in Kurdistan, many of them Yazidi people, victims of ISIS.
Erica and Kim Henley's charitable initiative, Operation Hope Australia Limited, has accumulated many generous donations of medical equipment from hospitals across NSW, in which they then send to camps and hospitals in northern Iraq.
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The charities most recent donation was gifted to the organisation by Dubbo Private Hospital.
"We have had a very generous offer from Dubbo Private Hospital in which they donated several very important pieces of very expensive medical equipment," Mrs Henley said.
"If we didn't take it, it would have ended up in the landfill."
The donation from Dubbo Private Hospital included an infant incubator and baby warmer/neonatal resuscitation unit.
The donation from Dubbo Private Hospital followed a meeting and presentation regarding Operation Hope Australia Limited which was held in Dubbo on Sunday.
Mrs and Mr Henley were invited to Dubbo by Shirley Colless of Dubbo's Uniting Church where they gave the presentation.
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"We were moved by the plight of refugees. Our common compassion for our fellow humans drew us to want to directly contribute to helping refugees fleeing war in Syria and Iraq," Mrs Henley said.
"This donation has allowed us to be able to send a second 44-foot shipping container to Kurdistan.The operation has helped hundreds of thousands of women and children in need across 24 refugee camps in Northern Iraq. It's incredibly sad what these people are going through. One of the nurses in Kurdistan sent me photos of him using the donated incubators from the first shipment on babies there which helped to save their lives. That feeling is incredible."
The first shipment cost Operation Hope $25,000, excluding the shipping from Sydney to Turkey, which was donated by SEATRAM.
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"We have had an urgent request from Dr Hussein for basic medical equipment for Sinjar Hospital, Iraq. Most of the items are quite inexpensive and lightweight so they can be carried in the luggage of volunteers flying to Kurdistan. We also need funds for the consumables to go with these donations."
Mrs Henley said she's happy to speak to anybody who would love to get involved and is currently searching for a trucking company in Dubbo that would be willing to deliver the equipment from Dubbo.
Donations can be made at https://operationhopeaustralia.com. You can contact Mrs Henley on 0409505945.
