ASIA/JORDAN - Educational project for young Christian refugees who have fled from north Iraq

Thursday, 21 May 2015

Amman (Agenzia Fides) - English courses, computer science and physical education for Iraqi Christian girls and boys who with their families have sought refuge in Jordan, after having fled from Mosul and the Nineveh Plain because of the advancing of jihadists of the State Islamic (IS). This is the initiative carried out at Our Lady of Peace Center in Amman, in collaboration with Caritas Jordan, to remedy, at least partially, forced expulsion from normal school activities that mark the condition of young Iraqi refugees and could have negative effects also psychologically.
The socio-educational program, sponsored by the Portuguese Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, is one of the initiatives supported by the local Church in favor of Iraqi refugees. "About eight thousand Iraqi Christians have found refuge in Jordan - refers to Agenzia Fides Archbishop Maroun Lahham, Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem - and many have come to the Hashemite Kingdom with nothing, stripped of everything. These Christian families face every day basic needs: water, food, medicine, clothing. Most of them thought they could soon migrate to other Countries in Europe or America, but this will not be possible if not for a very long time. This perspective, with the passing of time, is bound to cause Caritas Jordan difficulties at a financial level. Anyway, in the long run, the state of emergency can only weigh negatively even at a moral and spiritual level on our brothers and sisters who without a job are likely to experience years of existential emptiness".
In this scenario - ensure official sources of the Latin Patriarchate - the educational project launched to serve school age Iraqi refugees are registering positive results also from a psychological point of view, helping many young men and women to regain confidence in the future. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 21/05/2015)


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