When Christian persecution dominates headlines, one Californian nonprofit is going behind the front lines in the Middle East to aid women and children in need.
Roads of Success is a team-oriented operation that travels around the world to bring hope to the hopeless, fighting for refugees as well as human and women’s rights by incorporating medical attention and ministry.
ROS works primarily with persecuted minorities in the Middle East—Ysidis and Christians.
“We’ve been told (that) insurgents will go into homes, give them a choice to pay a huge amount (of money) to remain free (or they can) flee,” says ROS Founder Yvette Isaac.
Recently, they’ve landed in camps in Dohuk and Erbil, Iraq, using worship to connect to the refugees. According to their website, they were able to aid more than 600 refugee families in Iraq last year.
By using songs, team members enable refugees to “realize how valuable they are and how much God loves them,” Isaac says. “They begin to understand they have value in the eyes of God. The team wiped many tears of the people, hugging them.”
ROS works with government officials to conduct workshops, and in some cases has actually received requests to help create healing workshops for traumatized women and children, provide practical humanitarian aid, as well as legal advice, Isaac says.
Because of the practicality of their ministry, Isaac says, Kurdish officials in particular have been open to ROS practices; they’ve even been open to prayer through a scientific perspective.
But the road ahead is rocky. With the Islamic State ramping up acts of terror, more and more Middle Eastern Christians are fleeing for their lives, and ROS has situated itself to offer the aid necessary.
For more information on Roads of Success, visit its Facebook page.
