Syria
After thirteen years of war in Syria, which has left hundreds of thousands
Number of projects
microcredit programmes. These programmes provide families and young people with funds to start their own businesses. We also provided support to secure basic needs and medical care for families. Other funds were used for the benefit of children, enabling them to go back to school. At the same time, our regular pastoral projects continued, including the Church’s summer camps for children and young people. On 27 November 2024, shortly after the ceasefire in Lebanon, political tensions in Syria began to escalate rapidly. The troops of HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) began to move towards Aleppo, and within days, the situation took a dramatic turn when the Assad regime unexpectedly fell on 8 December. The collapse of the regime and the abrupt shift in power paved the way for change, which hopefully will lead to improvement. But for many, especially in the Christian community, there is considerable uncertainty about how the situation will develop.
153
Funded projects
Type of projects
dead, millions displaced and cities destroyed, the economic and social crisis was greater than ever during the reporting year. With wages of around 20 to 30 US dollars per month, the majority of the population lives in extreme poverty. Most families cannot even cover their basic needs. For the Christians who remain in the country, the Church is often the only hope. ACN continued to support them with numerous aid projects in 2024. Today, it is estimated that no more than one-third of the 1.5 million Christians who lived in Syria before the war remain. One objective of our aid is to encourage Christians who no longer see a future in Syria to stay. In order to offer them a positive perspective in their home country, we are once again supporting Church
12
3
12
Construction/ reconstruction
Means of transport
Mass stipends
38
0
0
Emergency aid
Media help
Bibles & books
0
12
76
Training of priests
Subsistence aid
Formation of faith
Head of Section Reinhard Backes
62 | ACN Activity Report 2024 | Middle East – Syria
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