Refugee Appeal - February 2020 Update
Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan
Our Lady Dispensary (OLD) is located in a densely packed, lower-middle-class Christian area of Beirut. A ministry of the Middle East Council of Churches, OLD serves over 1,000 families – Iraqi Christians and Syrian Muslims – who need food, medicines, help to pay rent, and trauma healing for their children. They fled their countries during war and upheaval. Some want to go back but their homes or livelihoods were destroyed. Most of them hope to be resettled in Europe, Canada or Australia but those U.N. initiatives have slowed down.
As Christmas approached, your generous gifts once again allowed OLD to provide a glimmer of joy to families who had lost much. Rather than “just hand out” much-needed clothing and warm winter outerwear, OLD arranged with a local department store to allow their clients to shop with vouchers, so THEY could pick out what they needed, affording a bit of choice and dignity. Let me introduce you to a few of those whom you helped…
“Fatima,” an elderly lady from Aleppo with a sweet smile, came to Lebanon in 2015 after her husband was kidnapped. She lives alone in a one-room apartment and pays $200 rent. She is supported by OLD whenever there are funds for medication, clothing, and food. Her daughter in Turkey, whom she has not been able to see for 5 years, supports her rent. “Fatima” hopes that one day, she will be able to return to Syria.
A Christian who fled northern Iraq when ISIS overran his village of Batnaya, “Martin” brought his family to Lebanon in 2014 and found a one-room apartment near OLD. Since Martin is not allowed to work, he comes to OLD every week to benefit from medical and social services (including children’s and women’s activities) along with food vouchers. A fan and a space heater have made their cramped space a bit more livable, but he longs to follow family and friends to Australia where, he says, “a better future for my children” might be found.
“Sima” and her family came to Lebanon in 2016 from Raqqa, ISIS’ self-proclaimed “capital” in Syria. Although some Syrians “unofficially” find low wage day labor from time to time, those opportunities for her husband have dried up due to the continuing political and economic upheaval in Lebanon. Her son is able to attend a local school and aspires to be a lawyer. OLD staff describe him as “very brave.” “Sima” struggles with the impoverished situation of her once-middle-class family in Lebanon but cannot yet return to Syria…
Through the years, The Outreach Foundation has supported the “outreach of hope” extended by OLD’s tiny staff: Grace Boustani, the full-time social worker and administrator, and Rola Al Kattar, who does intake of new clients (with emphasis on learning their family situations) and runs the trauma healing program for refugee children (a Bible Society curriculum). Your gifts have truly been redemptive!
Gratefully,
Marilyn Borst
Associate Director for Partnership Development
Read more about the Refugee Appeal HERE.
Make a gift to the Refugee Appeal HERE or by sending a check to our office.