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PWRDF supported work in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt

A girl writes on the chalkboard during class in a school in a settlement of Syrian refugees in Minyara, a village in the Akkar district of northern Lebanon. Photo:ACT/Paul Jeffrey

September 21, 2015

By Simon Chambers

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PWRDF has been supporting relief efforts in Syria and the surrounding countries since 2012.  In 2015, PWRDF has sent $125,000 through the ACT Alliance and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank for programs in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, $20,000 through ACT for relief work in Greece, Hungary and Serbia, as well as $31,000 through Refuge Egypt for work in Cairo. You can read about our work with long-term partner Refuge Egypt.

ACT Alliance Emergency Appeals

PWRDF has supported ACT Alliance members in providing food, shelter, hygiene, sanitation, psycho-social support, health care and education to displaced Syrians within Syria and to refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.

1.2 million Syrian refugees currently live in Lebanon, making up 20% of the population of the country at the moment.  The influx of so many people into the country has led to social, political and economic problems.  For example, rents have gone up 200-400% in many towns.  The health care and educational systems are groaning under the strain of 20% more people who need to access them.  ACT members’ provision of shelter, health care and education are helping to alleviate these problems.

In Europe, the Hungarian border has recently been closed to refugees trying to enter the EU through that country.  Tens of thousands of refugees are already in Hungary, Greece and Serbia, taxing the local governments’ ability to process the refugees and help them to find homes.  ACT is helping to provide for the needs of the refugees with food, shelter, water, hygiene, sanitation, and the other basic needs.  ACT will also be helping refugees to prepare for the upcoming winter by providing appropriate clothing, bedding, and fire wood.  PWRDF has contributed $20,000 to the European response of the ACT Alliance.

Canadian Foodgrains Bank

PWRDF is currently supporting food aid to Syrian refugees in southern Lebanon and Beirut, as well as internally displaced people within Syria through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.  Families are provided with food vouchers for a year, as well as additional nutritional training for mothers of children under three to help prevent childhood illnesses ensure healthy growth of their children.

PWRDF has contributed $60,000 through the Foodgrains Bank, which is being matched 4:1 by the government of Canada, bringing the total value of the work to $300,000.  This work will reach 6000 families within the Al-Nabk District, Rural Damascus Governorate, and Rural Homs in Syria, and almost 1200 families in Lebanon.

Matching Funds

The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) announced that it would match, dollar for dollar, donations from individual Canadians to eligible registered Canadian charities—including PWRDF—for relief efforts for those affected by the Syrian emergency into the government’s Syria Emergency Relief Fund.  The government will match all donations received between September 12, 2015 and December 31, 2015.

You can support this work:

On-line

You can designate your online donation for “Syria Response”.

By Phone

For credit card donations contact:

Jennifer Brown
416-924-9192 ext. 355; 1-866-308-7973

Please do not send your credit card number by email or fax.

By Mail

Please make cheques payable to “PWRDF”, mark them for “Syria Response” and send them to:

The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden Street
Toronto, Ontario
M4Y 3G2

PWRDF Donations Contact:

Jennifer Brown
416-924-9192 ext. 355; 1-866-308-7973

PWRDF Humanitarian Response Coordinator

Naba Gurung
416-924-9199 ext. 321; 1-866-308-7973