Care for Displaced Syrians
Newly arrived children get registered for school in the Zaatari Refugee Camp, located near Mafraq, Jordan. Opened in July, 2012, the camp holds upwards of 20,000 refugees from the civil war inside Syria. International Orthodox Christian Charities and other members of the ACT Alliance are active in the camp providing essential items and services. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACTFebruary 1, 2013
By Simon Chambers
Last week alone, 21,000 Syrian refugees arrived at the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, according to UNICEF. Canada has announced an additional $25 million to aid the victims of the violence in Syria, part of the UN’s requested $1.5 billion humanitarian response to the crisis. PWRDF continues to respond to the emergency through the ACT Alliance and now through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
PWRDF has contributed $20,000 to a Canadian Foodgrains Bank project which is providing food to 5000 families for five months, including food baskets of rice, bulgur wheat, pasta, oil, lentils, tea, sugar, salt and canned meat to displaced people in the Qalamoun area of Syria.
Last August, PWRDF joined the ACT Alliance’s appeal to provide humanitarian aid for refugees fleeing the violence, helping to provide to over 7,000 families in the region. This aid included food, hygiene kits, bedding, support to health workers, provision of psychosocial counselors, support for students to continue their education and cash for work initiatives to relieve financial strains on hundreds of families.
“The humanitarian crisis in Syria has reached desperate dimensions. The conflict has lasted 22 months. People are sleeping in the streets, unable to fulfill their basic needs, and there is a fear that the suffering will be exacerbated by the harsh winter and protracted conflict. Humanitarian aid should be rapidly scaled up with a massive increase of funding. Currently, the efforts remain severely underfunded,” says John Nduna, General Secretary of ACT.
To donate to this relief effort:
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 Partnership Program Manager
Elsa Tesfay
416-924-9199 ext. 206; 1-866-308-7973
For media requests please contact Communications Coordinator Janice Biehn at (416) 924-9199;366.