SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region - A low income household in Sulaimani province, comprising three sisters, two of them with a heart condition, and their mother, relies on the help of its eldest member, aged 12, for survival since the parents’ divorce. Khalat Abdullah, a mother of four whose husband divorced her approximately seven months ago, is raising her children on her own. Her two daughters, aged five and eight, suffer from heart conditions. "My two daughters are unwell; they require regular hospital visits and monthly medication," she said, admitting that "It has been about six months since I last provided medication for my children," as a result of their financial struggles. Mohammed Ahmed, the family’s eldest son, carries the whole family’s financial burden since his parents’ divorce. He buys and sells water bottles to cover medical expenses, rent, and ensure the family's financial stability. “It's been around 6 to 7 months since my dad divorced my mom. I work and earn [a living] by selling water, but it is winter now, and nobody buys it,” Ahmed told Rudaw’s Peshawa Bakhtyar on Wednesday. He said that his mom usually cooks them “tomatoes mixed with cooking oil,” and he misses meat. “It's been a while since we haven't eaten meat or chicken, but we like eating it. However, it is inevitable,” Ahmed said. The mother and her children are relying on government assistance and support from charitable organizations, as the family's monthly expenses amount to at least 700,000 Iraqi dinars, a sum unattainable through the sale of bottles of water alone.
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