Syria Refugee Crisis Response Update

The civil war in Syria broke into the news cycle in September as world leaders discussed what to do in response to the massive death toll and the numbers of displaced Syrian people in desperate need. This caught the attention of the world, and many of us have a renewed sense of urgency that a solution to the crisis be found and real peace be put into place.  Statistics paint a picture of the pain this war is causing daily:

Nazarene Student with a new blanket.

•  6.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria
• 5 million are internally displaced in Syria
• 2 million Syrians are now refugees in neighboring countries....1 million are children.

I have written before about the response of the Nazarene Churches in the Middle East and want to take some space to update on the ongoing activities:

• 10 Nazarene Churches in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon are reaching out to 3,000 families with food, medicines, and household items. Winter is coming, so we will need to give out as many blankets and heaters as we can. Last winter, the Syrian families and students in our schools were so happy to receive a new blanket.
• Nazarenes who are serving Syrian families are visiting their "homes" with words of encouragement and prayers and have provided children and parents Christmas and Easter parties, gifts, English camps, VBS, and sports days.
• Two after-school programs are now running for Syrian children. In reality, they are education programs, because the Syrian children have no school to attend.  About 170 children are in our after-school programs, which run 4-5 days each week.
• Four Nazarene Schools are providing an education for 300 Syrian students, many of whom have missed two years of school.  If you want to help Syrian families and our schools with tuition support, go here

Since the crisis in Syria started, NCM has provided $127,000 worth of aid through these ministries.  We feel so blessed by so many generous people in Europe, the US and the Middle East who have given to our ministries.

If you want to help Nazarenes in the Middle East reach out to their neighbors, please give here.