Jessica Birthisel | Nov. 14, 2010
 |
| Photo by Joshua Gigliotti |
| Sophie Pappas holds 1-year-old Soyar, an Iraqi girl who recently had a successful heart surgery. Pappas works for Preemptive Love Coalition, which provides Iraqi children with surgeries. |
She first heard about the Preemptive Love Coalition, a non-sectarian, non-governmental organization, through a friend. Due to the use of chemical weapons and inadequate prenatal care in the country, birth and heart defects are common in Iraqi children, says Pappas, and the organization works to provide them with life-saving heart surgeries.
After graduation, Pappas says she quit her work as a journalist — she was a writer and West Coast editor for Poshglam PR and a contributing writer to Vogue India — took out all of her savings and moved to Iraq to work with PLC.
“In a time when the Middle East, and Iraq, especially, is thought of as dangerous, I wanted to be a part of a solution that didn't involve missiles and bombs, and that was about helping children,” said Pappas via e-mail from Iraq.
Through her work with PLC, she coordinates fundraising, writes press releases, helps with publicity, and manages and writes for the PLC blog, www.preemptivelove.org/blog.
“My training and the skills I learned as a journalist prepared me to be a good listener, a good communicator,” said Pappas, skills she says are particularly helpful in her work as a family advocate.
She was supposed to stay in Iraq just for the summer, but after the first week, she says she knew she could not go home, and she has extended her stay indefinitely.
“The longer I am here, the more I find to do,” says Pappas, who also teaches English, volunteers at a maternity hospital and campaigns against Female Genital Mutilation.
Though she sees more journalism work in her future, she says it’s just not a priority now.
“Right now it is all about the kids.”
Questions? Comments? Email the Web editor.
