Dal 2018 è attivo ad Aleppo il Franciscan Care Center, un centro di riabilitazione psicologica per quei bambini che altrimenti non avrebbero mai potuto costruirsi un futuro lontano dagli abusi e dalla brutalità.
Since 2018, the Franciscan Care Center has been active in Aleppo. It is a psychological rehabilitation center for children who otherwise would never have been able to build a future away from abuse and brutality.
The situation facing the younger segments of the population is alarming, especially in Aleppo, the epicenter of the war between 2014 and 2016. The Center supports thousands of children, yet each one of them is followed personally with great care and attention, receiving the necessary support from a medical and psychological team funded by the project.
In the Center - located within some of the premises of the Terra Santa College and the outdoor spaces renovated during 2023 - courses in sports, art, music, and English and French languages are provided. It also offers psychological rehabilitation pathways, such as art therapy and music therapy, to build a healthy and positive environment around the children. To also facilitate physical rehabilitation, this year we invested in setting up adequate outdoor spaces: two football pitches, a basketball court, indoor courts, a swimming pool, and a large open space dedicated to activities for the youngest children are now available.
Here, 700 children are assisted; 270 are enrolled in the Terra Santa Football Academy. The FCC was also a reference center during the emergency situation following the earthquake: 350 people were supported through the distribution of food supplies, and 5,000 were accommodated during the months of February and March 2023.
Ongoing therapeutic and educational programs have been carried out: art therapy for 240 children in East Aleppo, 'The One' program for 184 children, the Summer Club with approximately 700 participants, and the new 'Social Alchemist' pathway with 270 children.
The Franciscan Care Center Beyond its Main Premises
In collaboration with the local Mufti and Mukhtar, we opened three reception centers for children - many of whom are orphans and many living with disabilities - who reside in the poorest, highly degraded areas. Many of them are forced to leave school very early, around nine years old. In addition to offering psychological support and rehabilitative therapies for children with physical and intellectual disabilities, the Center provides remedial schooling to contribute to literacy and, consequently, the empowerment of the youngest.
The mothers and women of Aleppo are also a focus of the Center's attention, receiving material and psychological support through specific assistance programs. In these three centers, 4,000 children are supported (including 681 with disabilities) and assistance is offered to 2,292 mothers and women of East Aleppo.
Damascus
In Damascus, a music school was established in some disused premises belonging to the convent of the Custody of the Holy Land. Syrian children are offered courses in guitar, piano, violin, and drums. The center was founded in collaboration with a local pianist, director of the Harmony Center for Music Education in Damascus. The Pro Terra Sancta Association supports the running costs, contributing to the purchase of new musical instruments and funding part of the teachers' salaries. There are 136 children enrolled in this music school, employing 8 local teachers.
Since November 2021, the commitment of the Franciscan Care Center has also been active in Beirut, Lebanon, as an art-therapy center aimed at the psychological rehabilitation of Lebanese children. A total of 120 people participate, and 8 local workers are involved in the center's activities.
In 2023, a new center was opened in Hama, Syria, at the church complex of the Immaculate Virgin of the Syrian Catholics of Hama. The center provides support and assistance to 200 children.
The Aleppo center model was successfully transferred to Hama, reaching 320 children and adolescents in a poor, mixed area. The program includes drawing, theater, music, and sports in an environment that promotes coexistence. A mixed team of 17 workers from different religious backgrounds manages the activities, addressing sensitivities related to mixed activities through dialogue.
