Rita Shahoud was diagnosed with heart failure, and she needed a defibrillator. Her siblings helped, but “the procedure was difficult and expensive.”
Mrs. Shahoud says she is still alive because of the Blue Marists and Dr. Nabil Antaki, who work within a church-run health network that helps people with medical costs.
“The war has greatly affected us, like everyone else, financially, health-wise and psychologically,” says another beneficiary, Hala Youssef. “It has affected us across the board.”
The Maronite Charity Committee has been helping people in Aleppo for more than 100 years, but since the civil war, the needs have changed, says Alain Ayoub, a volunteer with the committee. Now, many of those being served are elderly, “and they need medical assistance, given their limited financial resources and ability to work.”
Watch the video and meet some of the people in Aleppo who have benefitted from the church’s assistance. Then read more in “Healing Hands in the Shadows of War” in the September 2025 issue of ONE Magazine.
To learn more about Dr. Nabil Antaki, mentioned by Mrs. Shahoud in this video, read “A Letter from Syria.”