In a society where gender roles are shaped and curtailed by cultural norms, women and girls in Iraq face a number of barriers that often prevent them from participating in athletic activities. Free to Run, an innovative nongovernmental organization, empowers women and...
Though it’s a central character, this story is not really about bread. In early April, I received a message from General Hazhar Ismail, the Senior Military Advisor to the Minister of Peshmerga Affairs. For some time, the General and I have known each other, having...
Greetings, Lebanon’s servicemembers are facing extraordinary challenges. Tasked with upholding public order and security when their country is falling apart, these servicemembers and their families need our help. Spirit of America is working diligently to help...
Greetings, Over the past month, Spirit of America helped with the evacuation of 121 Afghans from Kabul to Albania, and is now supporting them in Albania while they navigate the long and complex resettlement process. On August 26, I received a call from Congresswoman...
Greetings, This past week, Spirit of America helped distribute 2,100 “farewell” care packages to the last Afghan evacuees in Qatar.More than 58,000 Afghans evacuated by the US government were flown to military facilities in Qatar, where they were processed and...
Greetings, It’s been one week since Spirit of America launched our Afghanistan Emergency Fund. Our entire team is focused on helping Afghans being evacuated by the United States. This includes frontline interpreters and other vulnerable groups, as well as their...
Last fall, I was enjoying a quiet hike in a mountain forest in northern Lebanon. As I crested a particularly troublesome hill, I was expecting a lovely vista as my reward. Instead, I was greeted by a ruby-red sign leaning miserably, it seemed, against a thorny bush....
August 4, 2020 – a date that is forever seared in the hearts of many Lebanese. Given all that's happened to our world since—pandemic lockdowns, social upheavals, and contentious elections—it's easy, somewhat understandable, to forget what happened back then, or to...
Greetings, On August 27, roughly three weeks after the massive explosion that rocked Beirut — killing over 200, displacing hundreds of thousands, and causing billions in damage — I landed in Lebanon. I had one goal: find the right group of people to team up with to...
