Srwa Salih, Director of the Sulaimaniyah Office of the Barzani Charity Foundation, spoke in a new episode of “Sulaimaniyah Evening” on Sulaimaniyah Media Channel about the natural disaster caused by flooding in Chamchamal and the assistance provided by the Barzani Charity Foundation.
On 16/12/2025, during an interview with Sulaimaniyah Media Channel on the program “Sulaimaniyah Evening,” and in response to the presenter’s questions, Srwa Salih emphasized that the Barzani Charity Foundation has always been at the forefront during natural and unexpected incidents wherever they occur. She stated that the foundation’s rescue teams reached the affected areas, and that during the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the foundation was among the first organizations whose teams were present to assist the affected people.
Regarding the natural disaster and flooding in Chamchamal and its surroundings, she said that at the time of the incident, the Barzani Charity Foundation issued a statement expressing condolences to the victims and announcing that, in coordination with the relevant government authorities, it would deliver aid to the affected areas. She added that, based on the instructions of President Barzani, they urgently moved to assist the people of Chamchamal.
She also stated that the foundation’s staff from the offices in Sulaimaniyah, Erbil, Kirkuk, Garmian, Halabja, and the foundation’s headquarters all worked as one team to stand with the affected people. As she mentioned, in Chamchamal, in the Shorish community, in Takya, and in some nearby villages close to Kirkuk, the affected families received assistance from the foundation.
She reiterated that the Barzani Charity Foundation is an international organization that delivers humanitarian aid to those in need in coordination with the government and with official authorization. Regarding the displacement of people due to the disaster, she said that on the first day, they immediately distributed hot meals, providing three thousand people with lunch and dinner. She explained that this was the most urgent emergency response, as the affected families had lost everything and were unable to prepare food for themselves.
She further explained that neighborhoods were divided among organizations, and the area assigned to the Barzani Charity Foundation included nearly 500 houses. The foundation’s teams cleaned the houses, refilled household water tanks, and later distributed food baskets, fuel, heaters, mattresses, blankets, pillows, clothing for children and adults, kitchen sets, and cleaning kits.
During her continued responses to Sulaimaniyah Media’s questions.
Srwa Salih pointed out that the Barzani Charity Foundation is not only present with people during disasters, but continues to support them through ongoing humanitarian work in various sectors and through different projects inside and outside the Kurdistan Region.
As she mentioned, most of the assistance in the Chamchamal area was local rather than international, and the only organization present at the disaster sites was the Iraqi Red Crescent. She expressed her gratitude to all donors and benefactors in Kurdistan who have always supported the foundation.
She said that the Barzani Charity Foundation is not just one hand, but many hands working together to serve poor and low-income people. She also stressed that investors in Kurdistan have full trust in the Barzani Charity Foundation, recognizing its transparency and integrity, which is why they consistently take the initiative to deliver their aid to those in need through the foundation.
In the concluding part of her remarks, the Director of the Sulaimaniyah Office of the Barzani Charity Foundation said that the cameras did not reach many places and that the disaster was severe, especially in Shorish, where all the residents were poor and had nothing left. She said that she cried deeply with their tears.
She added that multi-story buildings and taller houses were not affected by the flooding, and that most of the damage was suffered by homes belonging to families living below the poverty line.
