Christian women have suffered unimaginable horrors at the hands of Islamic State militants in Iraq

A LOCAL MUM wants to send a ‘message of love’ to Christian women raped and tortured by the Islamic State militants occupying swathes of Iraq.

Samara Levy, 36, who featured in recent issues of HEART, has now organised ‘care packs’ with essentials needed for hygiene and basic clothes and shoes to be sent via six aid lorries as part of her ongoing charity work with Samara’s Appeal. The mum-of-two said there was an urgent need for more donations, as HEART went to press, because the women’s needs were overlooked.

Samara said: “The people of the Middle East really do still need our help. We want to send a message of love and encouragement from the UK, and to let these women know that we care. After the traumatic ordeals that many of them have been through, they now face a very bleak future. If we don’t fill these lorries and containers, these people will go without because the aid agencies can’t meet all their needs.”

Her appeal was made just as a UNICEF report announced that a staggering 8.29 million refugees were now in need of humanitarian assistance in Iraq. Another 2.9 million also need help in Lebanon with a further 750,000 refugees in Jordan.

See: www.samarasaidappeal.org