On the evening of Saturday, November 11, 2023, a momentous occasion unfolded as CAPNI and Nohadra-Duhok celebrated their thirtieth anniversary. The event, held under the theme “Together Hope Continues,” highlighted the collaboration and support from various sectors over the years.
This gathering received the esteemed patronage of His Holiness Patriarch Mar Awa III, the revered Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. The celebration also witnessed the presence and active participation of distinguished figures including the governmental community, ecclesiastical community, and academic authorities and elites. Notably, His Excellency Dr. Bishtiwan Sadiq, Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs in the Kurdistan Region, honored the occasion with his attendance.
The assembly was further enriched by the attendance of His Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Mitja Leskovar, and bishops representing various apostolic churches. Representatives from Duhok Governorate and its Departments and Directorates, representatives from the Department of Non-Governmental Organizations, local and international organizations, as well as community authorities from diverse national, religious, and regional affiliations and identities, lent their collective presence to the celebration.
In essence, the event served as a testament to the collaborative spirit and unwavering support from various sectors throughout the years, marking three decades of impactful endeavors by CAPNI and Nohadra-Duhok.
Due to the limited capacity of Mohammed Aref Jaziri Hall, the crowds that were present, were invited based on invitations sent out by CAPNI. The invitees responded as an expression and appreciation for CAPNI and its work serving vulnerable communities over three decades of growing and expanding activity in size, type, geography, and mechanisms.
The link to the promo video of the celebration:
The full recording of the celebration will soon be published on Nohedra TV and social media after the editing is completed.
Flags of churches and donor organizations were lined up in the entrance hall. Their assistance enabled CAPNI to provide the services with which we are all well acquainted. In the corridors leading to the celebration hall, participants learned about CAPNI’s work over the last 30 years, as well as the sectors of its programs: Eastern Christianity, Community Development, Health, and Advocacy, through images and information displayed on large monitors. They also learned about the publications the Organization either printed in its own printing press, the Nusaybin Press, or funded the printing in other presses. This includes almost 200 titles of books, pamphlets, magazines, and periodicals in Syriac or about Syriac history and literature. The walkway to the celebration hall had an exhibition called “Welcome to Colorful Iraq,” featuring 24 posters showcasing Iraqi public figures, authors, artists, athletes, and statesmen from Iraq’s many ethno-religious minorities.
The celebration began in the hall with the Iraqi and Kurdish national anthems, followed by a minute of silence to pray for peace.
Following that, a documentary video introducing CAPNI from its early days was shown.
Link to the video:
This was followed by a speech delivered by His Holiness Patriarch Mar Awa, who patronized the celebration. In the speech, He praised the role of the Organization and expressed warm congratulations on its mission. As a token of appreciation, His Holiness presented the Executive Director of the Organization, Father Emanuel Youkhna, with a Patriarchal Cross.
His Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio’s speech also expressed heartfelt gratitude for CAPNI and wished for continued prosperity.
The speech of the Governorate of Duhok, delivered by Mr. Majid Sayed Saleh, included high appreciation for the work of the Organization, which targeted vulnerable communities from all national and religious spectrums and in diverse locations and services.
Subsequently, this was followed by a speech by the NGO Department, which noted the excellence of CAPNI’s work.
Moreover, the speech of the donor partners of the Organization, delivered on their behalf by Mr. Nadim Ammann from the Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in Germany, was a testament to the trust that CAPNI has among the donor partners, which is one of the fruits of transparency and professionalism in the organization’s work. Mr. Ammann emphasized the donors’ willingness to support the Organization based on their trust and professionalism.
Mrs. Lubna Badri Hurmizd, additionally, delivered a short speech on behalf of the beneficiaries of the CAPNI’s programs.
Finally, Father Emanuel Youkhna delivered the Organization’s speech, in which he thanked all those who participated in the journey, particularly the beneficiary communities, who, despite the difficulties and challenges, remain hopeful of a decent future in the homeland, and thanked the donors for their support, as well as the administrative and community government for their cooperation. (Text of the statement at the end of the report).
The ceremony included tokens of appreciation to the founders of the Organization, donor partners, local partners from churches, authorities, foundations, and community figures, as well as to those who contributed to the financial sponsorship of the celebration.
The celebration segments of the program included:
• The Armenian church’s choir
• The Chaldean Church Choir
• Poems in Syriac and Arabic by Amer Hamza, who grew up in the Doura of the Assyrians – Baghdad and learned Syriac and produced Syriac poems alongside poems in his native Arabic.
• Mashakht, the artistic group that performed songs in a variety of Iraqi indigenous languages.
• Ornina Folk Dance Group, who traveled from Qamishli-Syria to take part in the celebration.
• The Ashti band for Yazidi children and girls from the Ashti Center in Sharya, which is one of the centers launched and sponsored by CAPNI for displaced children from Sinjar.
• An introductory video featuring two pillars of the Organization: the late Father Horst Oberkampf, the godfather of the relationship between the German Lutheran Church and the Eastern churches in Tur Abdin and Iraq, and one of the organization’s early supporters, and the late Rabi Petros Ezkharia, a volunteer director who managed the organization from its founding until he died in 2009.
• Songs performed by George Sam.
The celebration came to an end and echoed throughout Dohuk, the Nineveh Plains, and the Diaspora as distinct in its essence, size, and presence.
On the second day, Sunday, November 12, His Holiness Patriarch Mar Awa presided over the Holy Qorbana in the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in Dohuk.
The faithful from the different churches, as well as donor partners and CAPNI staff, attended the Holy Mass.
Speech of CAPNI Executive Director, Father Emmanuel Youkhana:
His Holliness Mar Awaa III, Patriarch of Assyrian Church of The East,
His Excellency Dr. Pashtiwan Sadiq, Endowment and Religious Affairs,
Your Beatitude, Eminence,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon,
Together Hope Continues Its beauty is not limited to its linguistic structure as much as it is beautiful in its content and integration, as the three dimensions of things are completed, and to reflect with some message that can be felt and lived.
TOGETHER, expresses the perpetrator or carrier of this message, and it is not limited to one actor but involves all of us: TOGETHER.
CONTINUES: refers to the verb’s permanence; if we commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of its founding today, we are all involved in the act’s continuity, and as His Excellency the Nuncio stated in his message confirming his participation, “I am pleased to participate in the celebration of the first thirty years.”
The word HOPE is the message that we carried and preached yesterday and preach today and tomorrow.
The three-dimensional scene of our work is thus completed with a three-word sentence: Together Hope Continues.
Hope is a word that we can talk about a lot, not only because it is beautiful, but also because we as individuals, groups, societies, and peoples need it so much.
Today, more than ever, natural disasters, and the more painful of which are man-made, are frequent and expanding to our global village which we call: Earth.
Today, more than ever, we need to embody hope and transfer it from the podium to action. This is what CAPNI has worked on with the support of its donor partners to translate hope into tangible physical programs: job opportunities, educational programs, community services, medical clinics, and others.
We express our appreciation and gratitude to our church and organization partners.
We are grateful to the governmental, religious, and community-based authorities for their assistance and facilities.
We express our gratitude to the administrative and executive cadres of CAPNI, both at the organization’s headquarters and on work sites.
But, more importantly, we express our gratitude and respect to the vulnerable communities who, despite the hardships and suffering they have endured for generations, have clung to hope and a dignified future in the only homeland they have known.
We appreciate the attendees who honored us with their presence.
I want to thank the unnamed soldiers who worked tirelessly day and night to create this event.
Allow me to thank my family, my wife, and my children, from this rostrum, for their support and understanding that I am forced to be absent and away from them for lengthy periods.
Thank you for your consideration.
