ACN sends more aid to Syria after earthquake
The money sent to Syria will help restore critical Church infrastructure and continue to provide aid to those in need.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has approved a second aid package of close to half a million dollars ($500,000) to help the Church in Syria recover from the devastating February earthquake.
ACN was one of the first international organizations to initiate relief efforts after the earthquake, since it was already present on the ground and had local trusted partners in place. The Catholic charity provided material, psychological, and educational assistance. This new aid package will go toward preserving and restoring crucial Church infrastructure, directly benefiting about 30,000 people from eight different rites, in the four governorates most affected by the earthquake.
“ACN is grateful to its benefactors for supporting this new earthquake response package. The package covers repairs to nine churches and monasteries, two schools, one kindergarten, a community centre, and a youth centre. It also covers the purchase of a new vehicle for a missionary priest whose van was crushed by rubble during the earthquake,” said Xavier Stephen Bisits, ACN’s representative in Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt.
“This aid will help the Church to get back on its feet, to serve the most vulnerable, and to continue its most basic pastoral work, in a country that is still in crisis mode,” added Bisits, who traveled to the affected region to oversee relief efforts in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and has made regular visits since.
62 percent of the aid will go to Aleppo and include the restoration of two schools and a charity center for the poor. By contributing to the restoration of the Mekhtarist School and the Karen Geppe Gemaran School, ACN is helping to ensure that children continue to receive a safe education, thereby guaranteeing greater social and family stability.
Close to 25 percent of the aid will go to Latakia, where ACN will fund the restoration of three churches, including the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. George, the Catholic Melkite Monastery of Our Lady of Joy, and the Armenian Orthodox Church of St. Mary.
The February 6th earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria was registered as a 7.8 on the Richter scale, the largest in the region in over 80 years. The total confirmed death toll was close to 60,000 people, mostly in Turkey. About 8,500 people died in Syria.
Since then, ACN has repaired the houses of Christians in four different governorates; paid the rent of displaced families; provided emergency aid to a total of 2,800 families; funded summer activities, as well as pastoral support for children and families; and distributed medicine to affected Christians.
Michlen Mukel was one beneficiary of ACN’s first aid package. She and her family refused to leave Aleppo, despite 12 years of war, a crippling financial crisis, and an earthquake that literally shook the foundation of their existence. The building she lives in was severely damaged.
“We reached out to several organizations for help, and we were fortunate enough to receive support from the Church and ACN. They reinforced the roof and the fourth floor, and worked on the basement and the building’s foundation. I am so grateful to everyone who contributed to this important project, especially the benefactors. Thanks to their efforts, our homes are safe and ready for the winter,” she told ACN.
—Filipe d’Avillez
