Dr. Naim isn’t his real name. The Syrian psychiatrist says he is afraid of his Syrian state employers who refused to allow him to treat Iraqi children, even though he volunteered to do so on his own time.

In the same Christian neighborhood where Noor and her family lives is a small center run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

“The nuns would come and visit us and other Iraqi families at home,” Noor’s mother, Wafaa, says. “They told us about a program for children that was going to be held at the church.”

It was there that Noor, a Christian, and the doctor, a Muslim, first met.

A Syrian’s risky choice to help young Iraqis heal