Local nonprofit organizes its largest mission to treat more than a thousand kids in Jordan

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Los Angeles-based Children of War Foundation has a mission to treat and educate communities impacted by poverty, war and other natural disasters.

They recently sent emergency medical supplies to the people of Ukraine, but due to COVID-19, the organization's traveling had stopped. Now, that's changing with a plan to visit Jordan.

"There's still so many kids that are left without care," said Amel Najjar, founder of Children of War Foundation, or COWF. "The time that we're going there are several other organizations going, but it still doesn't meet the needs."

COWF was founded in 2010 and has done mission trips annually, sometimes biannually. Their upcoming trip to Jordan will be their largest medical and surgical mission yet, where more than 1,100 children are waiting to be treated.

"This trip is extraordinarily important," said Jeffrey A. Hammoudeh, an associate chief at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. "Because with the conflict in the Middle East, it really has left the most vulnerable population, which are children, to fend for themselves."

The nine-day trip will bring together nurses, doctors and other team members from across the country, and everyone is working on a volunteer basis. Registered nurse Adriana Savadjan said it will be tiring and difficult, but they're all ready for it.

"These missions are very humbling and very rewarding," Savadjan said. "Just to see the gratitude in those parents' eyes is unbelievable, there's nothing like it. So, you come back from that mission humbled and you're ready to go again."

COWF is a grassroots organization. Organizers said average donations are about $5 to $20 each. They said their missions wouldn't be possible without donations and volunteers.

"When it comes to funding, we manage by reaching out to our friends, our colleagues and trying to support the fees that are incurred," Najjar said.

"At the end of the day, everyone is a volunteer and wants to do it because the rewards are significant," Hammoudeh said. "The impact that you make is a huge multiplier."

Team members based in Los Angeles leave for Jordan on Friday. To learn more, visit the nonprofit's website: www.cowf.org.

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