BAGHDAD — “This is for you. Take what you need,” read the banner over a wall hung with a variety of used clothes. Household goods were arranged underneath them, all part of a charitable project called the “Wall of Compassion.”

The Wall of Compassion is an initiative by a group of well-off volunteers to help the needy. It has expanded rapidly since its June launch, and by August its walls of charity had spread to seven different Baghdad locations.

The idea for the wall came about earlier this year, journalist Ali al-Surawi told Al-Monitor. Surawi, one of the initiative's founders, said it was not very well received at first, as the idea was unusual and unfamiliar to the Iraqi community. However, it did not take long to be accepted and welcomed by many Iraqis.

Surawi said the first wall was established in Baghdad's Sehah neighborhood. Since then, the number of volunteers involved in the initiative has increased to include people from all over the capital, notably from Baghdad’s affluent suburbs such as Adhamiya, Antar Square, the Liberation Square and the Karrada district.