Facts and Figures are Faces who need Help
The war in Syria may have ended, but it’s devastating effects are still very much with us. Since the beginning of the war in 2011, the Country has been plunged into a refugee crisis with families fleeing in their numbers.
A staggering 5.5 million Syrians have become refugees, fleeing to neighbouring countries in the Middle East such as Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. Europe is also home to over 1.3 million Syrian refugees who have sought asylum.
Christians in Syria suffered persecution, kidnappings and killings in the hands of ISIS. 70% of Christians in Syria whose overall population in the Country was 1.5 million before the war have had to flee the country in search of refuge.
Within Syria, 6.3 million people are internally displaced living in refugee camps. And nearly 13.1 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Why are Syrians fleeing the Country?
ACN’s Religious Freedom in the World Report for 2018 found that nearly two-thirds of Syria’s 18.2 million population lack the basics needed to survive and are in extreme poverty.
Sr. Annie, a project partner of Aid to the Church in Need assisting Christians in Syria disclosed to ACN that the Syrian refugee crisis is linked directly to the economic sanctions. These sanctions affect access to health care, medicine and basic essentials, and leave many people in abject poverty with no other option than to seek a way out.
Families, especially those with children, pregnant women and elderly people suffer the most.
The Children of Syria
During the years of the Syrian war, about 3 million children were born. Born into suffering, they know only of violent destruction and the hardship that comes with it.
Many of them have been separated from their families due to the refugee crisis, and continue to suffer starvation.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has stepped in to save the starving children of Syria by providing them with milk for their nourishment and growth.
With the launch of the “Drop of Milk” project since 2017, ACN has been providing milk for over 2000 Syrian children and babies under the age of 10 every month.
This is only one among the many projects focused on saving the children of Syria whose childhood has been stolen by war. Another notable project is the education of Syrian refugee children at Church schools in Lebanon to give them the chance of a brighter future.
How can we help Syrian Refugees?
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), which was founded at a time when Europe was recovering from the devastating effects of World War II to help refugees and displaced people. Therefore, emergency and pastoral care for refugees is an identifying element of our mission.
The survival of Syrian refugees has largely depended on the support of foreign governments and humanitarian organizations like Aid to the Church in Need.
Aid to the Church is Need (ACN) is one of the few humanitarian Christian organizations helping in particular, Christian refugees displaced by the crisis in Syria.
Since the beginning of the Syria refugee crisis, ACN has been responding to the plight of refugee families. Examples of our help include monthly food baskets, medicine, rent and also pastoral care to enable them live a dignified life.
For example, ACN has been supporting St. John the Merciful Food Kitchen which is run by the Melkite Catholic Church in Zahleh, Lebanon. The Kitchen provides a daily hot meal for over 1000 Syrian refugees who cannot afford it. In Beirut, Lebanon – ACN is also supporting St Anthony’s Dispensary where over 1,500 refugees and displaced people receive help every month irrespective of their religion.
Donate today to help Syrian refugees in their desperate need
