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The major emphasis of Children of Persia’s work has been in the areas of Educational, Medical, Family Assistance, and Disaster Relief Assistance.
Educational Assistance (Iran, U.S.)
Children of Persia, through its volunteers, has supported various school supply drives. At the time of the Bam earthquake, two young students from Indian Ridge Middle School in Florida started the “Kids Helping Kids” school supply drive with the help of their schoolmates. They collected school supplies for children in temporary schools and orphanage homes in the affected Bam area. Children of Persia shipped and distributed these supplies through its volunteers in Bam. In addition to sending supplies to Iran, our volunteers in the United States collected various donated school supplies to a school (Edison Partnership School) in Baltimore.
Children of Persia Scholarship Program Application Form
Children of Persia Scholarship Program
Children of Persia’s college fund program is a project set up by a group of generous donors to help students who have been affected by a crisis. The purpose for this grant is to enable students to start or continue their higher education at the university level. Grants are awarded based on the financial need of the student and are awarded on a per-term basis.
Our first recipient of this program was a young woman, named Anaheita, from Bam who is attending Zarand University. In addition, Children of Persia accepted fifteen applications for five awards to Bam University. These grants were awarded in September 2005.
Medical Assistance (Iran, U.S.)
- Assistance in construction of rural medical center (Zabol, Iran)
 
Children of Persia is providing assistance to construct and equip a rural medical clinic. The building shall be 675 square meters and shall be designed using a modular building concept in accordance with current standards of health care facilities in IRAN. This building is located on a donated land, between the cities of Zahedan and Zabol, in the village of Roustam, at ChahRaheh Aslan, in the eastern province of Sistan & Baluchestan, IRAN. The design of this building has been completed by our volunteer Architect from National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The plan has been approved by the Ministry of Health Services in Iran. Construction of this clinic began in June 2002.
The Zabol Medical Center, a non-profit, private center will be an inclusive medical center for children and their families. In addition, this Center will provide health educational programs and income-generation programs for women and families to better the status of their community.
- Medicine/Medical Equipment Drive (Bam & Zabol, Iran)
 
Children of Persia, simultaneously with construction of the Zabol Medical Center, has started a medicine/medical equipment drive. After the devastating earthquake of Bam, Children of Persia’s medical team in the United States assisted in gathering medical supplies and medicine for Bam. Within the first weeks of the earthquake, through the dedication of its volunteers, Children of Persia was able to send children’s medication to Bam. The medication was distributed to families by Children of Persia’s team in Iran. In addition, over 50 boxes of medical supplies were donated to Children of Persia by various individuals and agencies. Children of Persia provided for the transportation and distribution of these supplies in Bam.
- Cancer Patient assistance- Chini Fund (U.S.)
Through one of its long-time generous donors, Children of Persia has established the Chini Fund, providing assistance to cancer patients in U.S. The first recipient of this fund, a young Armenian-Iranian, is being treated at the National Institute of Health. Children of Persia has provided monthly assistance for room and board while the patient is in treatment. In addition, Children of Persia has provided information and resources through its network of volunteer doctors for his other medical needs.
- Medical support network (U.S.)
Through a network of volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists, and other health care providers, Children of Persia provides assistance in gathering medical information about disease and treatment for various doctors in Iran, and for patients and their families in Iran and the United States. This service also provides information about available assistance to families of patients within the United States.
In the past, Children of Persia has assisted a young woman with a severe brain injury and a young man with aplastic anemia.
Family Assistance (Iran, Afghanistan, & U.S.)
- Families in Crisis Assistance (Iran, U.S.)
Children of Persia is dedicated to the well-being of children. In this regard, it finds it necessary to assist families in crisis to make a better environment for the child.
Children of Persia has been assisting two Iranian families in the United States.
One is the family of a young woman with a brain injury that came to the United States for medical treatment. Children of Persia has provided assistance in coordinating her medical treatments and financial assistance to the family, setting up a network of volunteers to help the family, and scheduling a network of donors to assist the family financially on a monthly basis.
The second family is that of a young man who has a disabled mother, requiring various forms of assistance. Children of Persia has been providing monthly financial assistance for room and board, as well as a network of volunteers to check on the well-being of the mother and the young man.
- Clothing /Food Drives (Iran, Uganda, Afghanistan, U.S.A)
 
Children of Persia donates directly and/or assists other programs in providing food and clothing to the needy children and their families on a regular basis. These tasks are accomplished in cooperation with various non-government organizations (NGOs) in Iran, which distribute clothing and food to these families.
Within the last five years, Children of Persia has donated many clothing items to an NGO in Zabol. In addition, Children of Persia has provided funds to other organizations, such as the Razi Health Foundation in the United States (http://razihealthfoundation.org) for a holiday clothing drive in Azerbaijan.
In addition, Children of Persia assists in projects that involve food donation/distribution to children and their families around the world. Recently, Children of Persia donated funds to provide food containers to store donated food from the World Food Programme to Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration (MUJHU) in Kampala, Uganda. The World Food Programme at this center provides food to 1,200 needy families of HIV mothers and children.
Disaster Relief Assistance (Bam, Iran- Tsunami, Katrina, U.S.A)
Bam, Iran
In response to the devastating earthquake in Bam, Children of Persia became actively involved in helping the relief efforts. Children of Persia’s members in Iran and the United States were able to assist various organizations both in and outside of Iran in the relief efforts. Children of Persia continues to provide funds to those organizations that are addressing the educational and health needs of children in Bam.
The following is a summary of Children of Persia’s ongoing and completed activities in various phases of earthquake relief since the December 2003 disaster:
- Immediate assistance in Bam
Evaluating the situation on the ground by contacting various NGOs and established relief organizations, including the United Nations agencies in Iran, during the first week of the disaster.
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Deploying Children of Persia members in Iran to Bam the second week after the disaster to provide further valuable first-hand information on the humanitarian crisis, the specific needs, and logistical coordination.
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Setting up camp in Bam to distribute relief supplies within the affected area.
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Conducting a multi-state drive to collect children’s clothing and blankets in the United States; sorting, labeling, and packaging the material donations for shipment to Iran. Between January 3-20, 2004, collected, sorted, labeled, shipped, and delivered 10 tons of children’s clothing and blankets to Iran.
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- Long-term Projects in Bam
Library project: Children of Persia donated funds for the building of one library unit in Bam, which was completed by Relief International (RI).
The library has been a huge success among children and adults. RI’s ground staff reports that at any one time, there are at least 35 people who are checking out books from the library. It is estimated that 70% of those using the library are children and 30% are adults. The library has received requests for more Iranian fiction and children’s books. Recently, 200 new books have been added to the existing collection. At the library, RI issues library cards to users who pay a small membership fee to ensure the future sustainability of the library. The library is also a site for educational activities. This center is staffed by two local employees (one male, one female). The center is operational between 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. until closing at 5:30 p.m.
- Information and Computer Technology Center (ICT Center) in Bam
Children of Persia donated $20,000 toward the construction of the Information and Computer Technology Center (ICT) in Bam by a non-profit organization called Coalitions of Persian Charities (CPC). The ICT Center will be used to train students and teachers in necessary and up-to-date IT technology skills. The construction for this center is scheduled to start in 2006 with CPC supervising the project. http://iranearthquake.org/news.html
Indian Ocean Tsunami
Volunteers from Children of Persia assisted in the canned food/nutritional supplements drive for Indian Ocean Tsunami assistance organized by physicians from University of Maryland Medical Systems who traveled to the region to assist with survivors. The canned food drive was held at local schools and offices in Baltimore and Columbia, Maryland.
Katrina, U.S.
Children of Persia donated a portion of the proceeds from its 2005 Walk 4 Children to the survivors of the Katrina Disaster. The proceeds were distributed through two organizations – one in Louisiana and another in Northern Virginia.
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