SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – As the United States and Israel near the two-week mark of war with Iran, a Savannah couple living in northern Iraq is witnessing the conflict firsthand — and says they have no plans to leave.
Kayla and Michael Coons are directors of Light a Candle, a global humanitarian aid nonprofit. The couple moved to Iraqi-Kurdistan in September 2025 with their two children, ages 7 and 12, to work full time with Syrian refugees. They provide food bags, clothing, blankets, and other necessities to widows, orphans, and displaced families in the region.
Missiles overhead, mission unchanged
WTOC spoke with the couple just moments after they said a missile flew overhead and struck a military base approximately one mile from their home. The Coons said missiles and drones are passing over their house multiple times a day.
Despite the danger, the couple said they are maintaining their daily routine — visiting families and orphanages during daylight hours and returning home after dark to shelter in place.
“Our job is to go into the darkest and the hardest places and just bring hope, to bring joy, and to bring peace,” Michael Coons said.
A calling rooted in personal conviction
Kayla Coons said their work is driven by a sense of personal responsibility and gratitude.
“We’ve been blessed with so much opportunity so being able to give back to those who haven’t had the same opportunity is just really important to us,” she said. “We find it really rich to be together as a family, to be able to serve other people, to look outside of our own selves, see people who are hurting, see people who are in need and give what we can, give every bit that we can.”
Michael Coons said the Kurdish people they serve have long felt isolated, and that being a source of support carries deep meaning for him and his wife.
“One of the sayings that the Kurds have is that we have no friends but the mountains, and that’s like a very sad saying, that they have no friends,” he said. “And so for us we get to be those friends and we get to be the friend to the friendless and bring hope to the hopeless.”
Refugees feel the weight of renewed conflict
The Coons said the Syrian refugees they serve came to the area to escape similar violence. The ongoing conflict has deepened anxiety among those they work with daily.
“People are very sad, they’re hurt, their families are hurt, so again, we stay because of that,” Kayla Coons said. “We get to go and bring the hope, bring the peace and bring joy, you know, as much as we can.”
Michael Coons said the suffering he witnesses is rooted in humanity, not politics.
“There is innocence on both sides of this war and that is something that a lot of people especially in the states forget,” he said. “This isn’t a political thing here, here it’s not political, this is about real people’s lives being hurt, being destroyed.”
Family committed to the region
Kayla Coons said their two children have adapted to life in a conflict zone by taking cues from their parents.
“Children are going to give back to you what you give to them so when they see that we are not panicking and we are committed to the people that we love here, that this is our home that we’ve embraced it fully, they feel the same way,” she said. “They don’t operate in panic, they are determined and focused just like we are.”
The couple said loved ones back home are worried, but the Coons say they are not going anywhere. The Coons said they hope to expand their aid efforts into Iran soon.
More information on Light a Candle or to get involved visit the organization’s website.
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