CHRISTMAS
The Light of Hope
Every Christmas, our focus is on Bethlehem, the place where all began. Focusing on Bethlehem is really important to us, especially in this time of difficulty and uncertainty.
In Bethlehem, in fact, a light has arisen that cannot be obscured, suffocated or extinguished, it is an indomitable, unstoppable light, it is a light that is priceless: it is the light of hope.
HELP US SPREAD THE LIGHT
in Syria
Solar panels
In Syria the electricity is available for 2 hours a day only, which means that the rest of the day everything is dark. With diesel prices soaring, people cannot afford to turn on electric generators or heating. The only possible way to guarantee long-term aid is the installation of systems with solar panels that make families autonomous in terms of energy.
How do we spread the light here?
The Soup Kitchen
In Aleppo, today, everything is missing: even flour. Our emergency centers work tirelessly to alleviate, at least in part, people’s daily suffering . For this reason, we have set up a soup kitchen next to the church of San Francesco, where 50 volunteers and collaborators prepare 1200 hot meals every day for the elderly, disabled, sick, widows, orphans and the poorest families of Aleppo.
How do we spread the light here?
A Name and a Future
In East Aleppo we support the project ‘A name and a future’. Here, we offer care and protection to all orphaned and abandoned children, especially where these children were born from episodes of sexual violence, frequent during the war. It is common, in fact, contempt for these girls and boys, as well as for their mothers. Newborns are even barred from entering the registry office.
How do we spread the light here?
HELP US SPREAD THE LIGHT
in Lebanon
The medical dispensary
In Beirut we support the Franciscan Care Center (FCC), a reality of psycho-social assistance, where they are welcomed every day children and the elderly in need of help, support or simply a presence at their side, and in Tripoli a medical dispensary, where medicines are distributed, patients are welcomed and constant care for the needy is ensured.
How do we spread the light here?
The emergency center
For ten years, Beirut has been the epicenter of bloody riots that testify to the disarray to which the nation is exposed. There are two million displaced persons in Lebanon. This is 20 times the number of refugees in Italy.
In 2020, the dramatic situation in Lebanon became evident in the very strong images that came from the port of the city, erased in an instant by a violent explosion.
How do we spread the light here?
Schools and children
In Lebanon about 70% of students attend private schools, as the public school system has never been able to provide a satisfactory education. With the crisis of 2019 , the condition of Lebanese public schools has worsened due to the impossibility of maintaining facilities and staff until they close for long periods, causing an increase in the dropout rate.
HELP US SPREAD THE LIGHT
in Jerusalem
In Jerusalem we preserve natural and cultural heritage with the aim of raising awareness of their value in all local communities. Here, we promote activities of recovery and enhancement of resources as they are an opportunity to train qualified artisans, employ young people, women and people with disabilities and generate sources of income and new forms of hospitality.
HELP US SPREAD THE LIGHT
in Bethlehem
Dar al Majus
Dar al-Majus Community Home is located near the Basilica of the Nativity, in a place that preserves the memory of the Magi, as the name suggests. The ‘Community Home’ includes three areas of employment: a listening and support area, in which doctors and social workers offer concrete psychological help, especially to young people; an area of vocational training, to remedy the endemic scourge of youth unemployment; a cultural area, where education courses are provided.
How do we spread the light here?
Children
The living conditions in Bethlehem are not easy, and as often happens, it is always the most fragile, the children who continue to be born in the West Bank, who pay the price.
For this reason, for over fifteen years we have been in Bethlehem to take care of these little ones, to ensure them a just education and the possibility of a more beautiful future . We want everyone to have a chance in life, and we know that it is essential to start with education.
How do we spread the light here?
The elderly
The city of Bethlehem is experiencing a situation of particular economic and social fragility, which exposes the most defenceless groups to a serious need for assistance. Among the people most at risk from the point of view of loneliness and neglect are the elderly.
Our main purpose in this context is to ensure adequate and constant health care.
How do we spread the light here?
HELP US SPREAD THE LIGHT
in Gaza
The Gaza Strip is one of the most problematic areas of the Middle East: the ongoing conflict with Israel, the very high population density, unemployment and poverty represent the scenario of the daily life of its inhabitants. In particular, it is the Christian community the most fragile one. A small minority of about 1300 people out of the two million living on Gaza’s patch of land, they are discriminated against and hindered in various ways.
Butterfly Children
Health care for 33 children with an unusual disease: epidermolysis bullosa
HELP US SPREAD THE LIGHT
in Greece
Greece has become in recent years a landing point for refugees from the bloodiest theaters of war in the world, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. In Rhodes, in particular, there are some of the poorest migrant families. Here we assist, on the island of Rhodes, the Franciscan Father Luke in distributing food and medicines to the most fragile, and helps 460 families in finding accommodation and professional accommodation.
A PRICELESS LIGHT IS SHINING FROM BETHLEHEM
Help us spread it
This Christmas, support our projects in the Holy Land!
