Bernadette thought that she had seen the worst of it.
For well over a decade, she and her family had unflinchingly withstood Syria’s ever-worsening humanitarian and economic crisis, the country’s ongoing localized hostilities and its collapsing infrastructure.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, in collaboration with World Mission and the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, has awarded nearly $100,000 in grant funding to support relief efforts in Israel-Palestine. The now month-long conflict continues to escalate and exact a heavy toll on civilian casualties along with crippling home and property loss in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Jerusalem.
On August 4, the people of Lebanon observed a National Day of Mourning to mark the anniversary of the port explosion in Beirut that has been called the biggest non-nuclear explosion ever recorded, killing more than 200 people, injuring 7,000 and causing an estimated $4.6 billion in damage.
Since conflict and violence began in Syria in 2011, at least two-thirds of Christians and two-thirds of health professionals have left the country, according to the Jinishian Memorial Program (JMP), a long-time partner of World Mission and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA).
Relief efforts are under way in Beirut to help the more than 300,000 people displaced by the Aug. 4 port explosion that is now being called among the five strongest blasts in human history.
A few months ago, during our Strong Kids/Strong Emotions program for refugee kids, Hadil (not her actual name) was sitting across from me, stringing beads to make a bracelet.
In Lebanon, a country “bursting at the seams” with refugee families, Scott Parker helps migrant children from Iraq and Syria unpack the trauma they have experienced.
Global challenges can only be faced together, grounded in faith and prayer. That’s just one of the conclusions from the second World Mission global partner consultation in Berlin.