As we’ve looked across the landscape of organizations working in Iraq and around the world we’ve found ourselves wanting to know more about how their money is spent. We figure you are the same way – and we think you deserve to know.
The scandalous press and allegations surrounding big name do-gooders, their books, and their organizations have all caused us at PLC to ask honest questions about how we can be fully transparent with you about your donations and our management of them in Iraq.
So here are a few real-time financial notes that will remain here for posterity’s sake:
– PLC spent $41,068.38 for airfare and hotels for Remedy V – PLC spent $30,000 to the International Children’s Heart Foundation (ICHF) to procure their surgical expertise for this mission – ICHF made approximately $20,000 in in-kind medical gifts to the mission (directly to the hospital in southern Iraq; not on our balance sheet) – We have not finished tallying the field expenses for Remedy V yet but we anticipate it will account for an additional $1,790-$2,000 – Our partners in southern Iraq budgeted $1,500 for educational instruction – More than $1,620 in visa expenses were covered directly by the Iraqi Ministry of Health (MOH) in Baghdad – Security and transportation was provided to us, free of charge, by the MOH (worth, perhaps $10,000 as an in-kind contribution) – Food, housing, and all local accommodations were provided by the MOH (worth more than $20,000 as an in-kind contribution)
We estimate the total cost of this particular mission to run all parties approximately $133,361. Our agreement with the MOH will subsidize approximately 77% of those costs, with roughly $2,800 for this particular mission coming from PLC’s international donor pool.
Our next mission – Remedy VI – in southern Iraq is scheduled for June 25th.
Here’s the bottom line to all this: you are indispensable to our work. We cannot help Iraqis reach their desired vision for the future without you. We cannot eradicate the backlog of untold thousands of children waiting in line for lifesaving heart surgery. And we cannot create the systems they need to do this work on their own without you.
But…. You are not alone! This is not a “hand-out” program in which you unload your hard-earned money into a foreign country (no matter how poor or decimated), without calling on local families, organizations, and government to carry the majority of the financial burden.
This is what we mean when we talk about development. This is what we mean when we talk about graduating a program from foreign aid.
They cannot do it without you. But hopefully in the next few years that will no longer be true. Stay tuned in the coming months as we begin publicly exploring our EXIT STRATEGY and what exciting promises that holds for our dear friends here in Iraq!
