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Not many Mormon women don disguises in order to call on those they have been assigned to visit by the church's Relief Society.
They don't risk car bombs, dodge land mines or duck stray bullets either.
But their Iraqi counterparts sometimes do just that, and more, as they emulate the LDS Church's program for women-to-women outreach in individual homes -- all in an effort to bring hope and rebuild families.
"Doing our family visits, especially to widows, was very dangerous," Azhar Abdul Karem Al-Shakly, former minister of state for women affairs, said last week. "Security was bad."
Al-Shakly was in Utah with seven other Iraqi women for workshops on how to better their families, their communities and their future in a country with 2.5 million orphans and 3 million widows. They were guests of the nonprofit organization F.U.T.U.R.E, which stands for Families United Toward Universal Respect.
Launched in May 2006 by Fareed and Joan Betros, F.U.T.U.R.E in Iraq now involves some 400 women, who meet with as many as 2,000 others. Loosely modeled on the LDS Relief Society -- minus its Mormon content -- the Iraqi program has expanded to include elements of various religious traditions. It includes a three-tiered "visiting guide program," in which three women partner to meet with other families, then report to supervisors at local, district and national levels.
F.U.T.U.R.E sponsors regular conferences to teach families about home and
These are simple ideas, Al-Shakly said, "but they are so important to unify the families in our country. We understood this in the past, but have lost it through the war."
That sentiment was echoed repeatedly by other members of the Iraqi women's delegation.
"The war has turned our families upside down. Everything is broken," said Fawzia Abdul Kadhum Al-Attia, a professor of sociology who heads F.U.T.U.R.E for Iraq. "We want to reach every woman in Iraq because women are the key to the family."
During their weeklong stay in Salt Lake City, the Iraqi women met leaders of aid organizations, attended the University of Utah's World Trade Center Day, quilted and sewed at the American Fork Humanitarian Project, visited LDS Welfare Square and danced with their U.S. counterparts at the home of Sen. Bob Bennett.
The most emotional event of the Iraqis' trip was a ceremony, known as Hugs for Healing, involving seven mothers whose sons were killed in Iraq.
One by one, the Utah mothers recounted their sons' tales of heroism and suffering for their visitors from across the globe. Each teary-eyed woman said she was proud of her son and his willingness to help bring freedom to Iraqis. And each one acknowledged the pain the Iraqi women suffered.
"My son was in a truck with seven Marines and three Iraqi soldiers," said Zell Allred of Salt Lake City. "When the truck blew up, three Iraqi mothers lost their sons, too."
After each speech, an expressive and irrepressible Noha N.S. Ahmad Al-Agha jumped up from her chair and rushed over to give the speaker a hug and say, "I love you."
Every woman in Iraq has lost a dear one in this or former wars, said Al-Agha, who founded the Nintu Society for Humanitarian Assistance in Iraq. "I lost five cousins in one day. A rocket landed on their house during Ramadan [the Muslim month of fasting]," she said. "Every Friday we offer prayers for the martyrs, whether they are Iraqi or American."
F.U.T.U.R.E plans to take the Gold Star Moms to Iraq in February, Betros said. "They need it for closure."
To learn more about this program, go to womenforfuture.org/.
