In 2014, Ed Rivera was listening to numerous reports of refugees in Iraq. It was clear to him that people needed to respond to the terrorism of ISIS, and support the people displaced by such atrocity. Despite all reason, he felt personally that he must be a part of this response. As a man of faith, he spent some time reflecting over his desire, a good deal of time in prayer, and when everything seemed to point him to this decision, he sat down with his wife and daughters to discuss his plan. In August 24, 2014 he landed in Erbil, a Kurdish region in Iraq. He delivered medical supplies, food and water, and spent a lot of time meeting with displaced people. He made friends, and met many outstanding men, women, and children on his trip. He returned home in mid-September changed by the stories of the displaced people, but this visit was not enough. As he relived his experiences with the people around him, his wife Lenor had an important realization; that who she was and her skill set was exactly what was needed to outreach to the community. In February of the next year Ed and Lenor both went to Erbil. Together they spent time with many of the displaced families, and distributed the critically needed food, water, and supplies. All of refugees they spoke with wanted their stories shared; they wanted people in America to know what had happened to them, and what their lives are like currently.
Because of their request, in October 2015 their daughter created this website, the Re-foundation Project. We decided the Re-foundation Project was a fitting name because so much of our work focused around retelling, responding, rebuilding, renewing, receiving, and restoring things to people that have been so severely affected by ISIS. The goal of this website is to share those stories, and our own so that we can connect people to ways they can help displaced people in Iraq. Ed, Lenor and their daughter, will take turns updating the blog.
Since this trip Ed and Lenor have gone back and forth several times together and on their own. Lenor was in Erbil during the bombing of Mosul when the US Coalition worked with Iraqi solders and Peshmerga (Kurdish militia) to reclaim territory taken by ISIS. The 7.3 scale Earthquake, and the Kurdish referendum also happened while they were abroad. While the Rivera’s have both faced many obstacles, they look forward to their time spent working in Iraq
In 2017 Ed Rivera and his friend Ammar started Critical Needs Support Foundation (CNSF) Inc, the US nonprofit counterpart to Critical Needs Support Foundation, Ammar’s NGO in Iraq. While the Re-foundation Project is Christian, the nonprofit organization we operate is not religiously affiliated. It is our moral imperative to help all people in need, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, gender or politics. If you wish to donate to our cause please click the donation link at the top of the page. If you wish to donate to our organization (501c3 certified and tax deductible) please contact ed@thecnsf.com for a donation form.
Thank you for your help, and for visiting our site.
The Re-foundation Project 