BAGHDAD, 16 April 2004 — “It’s a wild world,” Cat Stevens once sang. As the chaos continues in Iraq, his charity Small Kindness is one of a handful of organizations continuing to operate in the war-torn country.

On March 14, the charity opened of a European Management Training & Educational Center at Baghdad University. The center currently has over 300 Iraqi girls on roll, providing tuition in information technology, management, language, and accountancy skills free of charge.

“The lives of ordinary Iraqis have been turned upside down,” said the former Stevens, now Yusuf Islam. “What they need now more than ever is some stability and real hope for the future.”

Small Kindness also supports some 300 Iraqi orphans with regular monthly payments and provides scholarships to over 100 university students. Small Kindness is a UK-registered charity.