CNEWA Canada

Syria is a country of religious diversity whose people have faced unprecedented upheaval and destruction for decades. With the collapse of the Assad regime, the economic, political and social situation remain unknown as the former rebels who now control Damascus seek to consolidate their authority, even as parts of the country remain in the hands of other forces, domestic and foreign. All communities, especially the Alawite, Christian and Druze minorities, are vulnerable despite assurances from the new authorities that their rights will be respected.

After the February 2023 earthquake, Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA-Pontifical Mission) launched an emergency campaign to shelter survivors and provide bedding, food, medicines, nursing formula, diapers and clothing to more than 2,000 families for three months in the Aleppo and Hama areas of northern Syria. The local Christian communities who took charge in providing this relief are now engaged in the long and painful process of “returning to normal,” which has been an unknown in Syria since civil war first erupted in 2011.

Even before the earthquake, Syria was facing multiple humanitarian emergencies. According to the World Food Program, an estimated 12.4 million people in Syria — close to 60 percent of the population — are food insecure. The value of the Syrian pound is unstable; it fell dramatically in 2021, causing sharp inflation. An estimated 50 percent of the population experienced a loss of income from the economic crisis triggered by the pandemic. Half of the state-owned hospitals and medical centers have sustained damage from the war. The country is facing a major health care crisis that has continued since COVID-19.  

As a direct result of the civil war — and the rise of the Islamic State from 2014 to 2017 — hundreds of thousands of Syrians were killed and 14 million were displaced, either as IDPs or as refugees, according to a report released by the United Nations Human Rights Council in February 2022. The pre-war population was 90 percent Muslim — a majority of whom were Sunni — and 10 percent was Christian, but those figures no longer apply, as Christians and other minority communities sought safety elsewhere. Aleppo, for example, once home to more than 500,000 Christians, is now inhabited by only some 25,000 Christians from all traditions. 

CNEWA-Pontifical Mission works closely with more than a dozen church and church-related institutions in Syria to support its diverse populations. Together with its broad coalition of partners, CNEWA-Pontifical Mission funds critical programs that serve to identify and protect the most vulnerable residents from all cultural and religious backgrounds.

Pastoral Programs

a bishop meets with a group of schoolchildren in Syria.
Archbishop Boulous Borkhoche meets with children at a religious after-school program near Khabab, Syria, in 2007. (photo: Mitchell Prothero/Polaris)

CNEWA-Pontifical Mission prioritizes support to catechetical programs providing spiritual formation and accompaniment to parishioners.

Our programs provide health insurance for 110 parish priests and enable parish priests to travel within their parish communities. In addition, we are repairing damages to churches, pastoral centers, multipurpose halls and rectories. These renovations are critical to sustain the church’s mission and pastoral activities.

We collaborate with religious communities of male and female religious, archeparchies, parishes and catechetical organizations in Aleppo, Damascus, Horan, Homs, Hassake, Tartous, Lattaquie and Nebek. Our partners are committed to living the Gospel, accompanying parishioners and strengthening their Christian faith during this time of despair, poverty and hopelessness.

Where the situation on the ground permits, CNEWA-Pontifical Mission continues to support its local partners that operate catechetical centers to accompany parishioners, children, youth, adults and elderly by providing religious and catechetical formation through extensive programs and activities. Our catechetical formation programs serve approximately 9,000 children, youth and adults. 

Child Care Initiatives

children attend a class in Syria.
Children attend class at a temporary school in Al Waer, in Homs, Syria. (photo: CNEWA)

CNEWA-Pontifical Mission supports thousands of Syrian children through our church and church-related partners.

Our programs provide around 2,300 young children with milk, diapers and clothing. In addition, CNEWA-Pontifical Mission assists approximately 7,000 school children, prioritizing students who are at risk of dropping out due to financial constraints and support them by providing necessities to enable them to grow and thrive throughout the hard winter and hot summer days.  

Health Care Programs

a dentist gives a woman in a headscarf a checkup in Aleppo.
A dentist performs a checkup on a Sunni Muslim patient at St. Ephrem the Syriac Dispensary in the Al Soulimanya neighborhood of Aleppo. The clinic, funded and operated by the Syriac Orthodox Church, is open to those of all faith communities. (photo: Spencer Osberg)

This year, CNEWA-Pontifical Mission has provided health care to thousands of disadvantaged people who cannot afford the cost of medical services. 

We work through local partners on the ground, who carefully screen prospective beneficiaries and help them to obtain medical care. This program supports approximately 2,000 persons annually, including children, youth, adults and the elderly.

Sustainability

CNEWA-Pontifical Mission creates employment and income-generating opportunities for people who have lost income and farmers whose fields have been destroyed by the war, and have supported individuals to establish or support small business initiatives. 

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