Syria Crisis

The ongoing violent conflict in Syria is quickly becoming one the most severe humanitarian crises in recent years. The uprising and civil war

Photo courtesy ACT Alliance/Paul Jeffrey

that started in March of 2011 last year rages on, affecting over 6.8 million people to date and claiming the lives of thousands.

“The situation in Syria is a humanitarian catastrophe, with ordinary people paying the price for the failure to end the conflict. The parties to the conflict have become increasingly entrenched in the rhetoric and reality of war with a total disregard for the impact on people’s lives,” s

tated UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, in April 2013.

Within Syria the United Nations estimates as of May 6, 2013 that 4.25 million people out of a population of 21.4 million have been displaced from their homes, 3.1 million of them being children.  Close to 1.4 million have fled to neighbouring countries, mainly Jordan and Lebanon.

Eight members of Canadian Churches in Action (CCA) are responding through various local partners and alliances in an effort to address some of the most urgent needs of displaced families and refugees. In total CCA members have committed over $4.8 million in support of the humanitarian response efforts in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Local partners are working tirelessly to provide uprooted families with much-needed food, cooking utensils, water, hygiene supplies, blankets, shelter and psychosocial care, including food assistance through CFGB funding.

The CCA Members are responding through a variety of different humanitarian initiatives:

• Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Canada has partnered with ADRA International: $73,377 to enhance the provision of medical services for 3300 Syrian refugee women in Lebanon living in West Bekaa. http://www.adra.org/site/PageNavigator/work/what/Protecting_the_Vulnerable/need_appeal_jan13.html
• Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM): $210,000 for emergency food relief for refugees within Syria and internally displaced persons in Lebanon (through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank) http://foodgrainsbank.ca/project/2035/syria_emergency_response_to_syrian_crisis_2453_11.aspx
• Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR): $40,000 for shelter, education, WASH, psychosocial support and non-food items in Jordan, plus in-kind contribution of blankets and school supplies http://www.actalliance.org/resources/appeals/SYR121Rev3_Conflict.pdf
• Mennonite Central Committee (MCC): $4.8 million for humanitarian assistance (food and non-food items), conflict prevention, psychosocial care and disaster preparedness in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan mcccanada.ca/syriacrisis
• Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D): $45,000 for humanitarian relief initiatives, including food assistance http://www.actalliance.org/resources/appeals/SYR121Rev3_Conflict.pdf
• Primate World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF): $30,000 for food, hygiene, bedding, household kits, school supplies and psychosocial support for refugees in Lebanon http://pwrdf.org/2012/pwrdf-provides-aid-to-syrians-fleeing-uprising/
• United Church of Canada (UCC): $35,000 for food, shelter, medicine, and counselling for refugees in Lebanon http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/general/121214b
• World Renew: $192,000 for food, medical supplies, psychosocial support, and non-food items for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and displaced families within Syria www.worldrenew.net/syriaconflict

Lead Agencies:

• Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
• Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM)
• Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
• Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
• World Renew (formerly CRWRC)

Implementing Partners:

• Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD)
• Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC)
• Various other local ecumenical and inter-faith partners

CCA Supporting Members: Through ACT Alliance joint appeal:

• Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR),
• Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D),
• Primate World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF),
• The United Church of Canada (UCC)