“The harvest I’m reaping now is the reward of eight years of cultivation and nurturing.” This is the statement of a dedicated educator who went the extra mile believing in the transformative power of grace and compassion.
God knows it has gotten dark in Syria and Lebanon recently. And only God knows if it will still get darker, to what degree, and for how long. But one thing is sure: it will never get as dark as the day God’s only begotten Son died on the cross on our behalf.
My name is Sahar. I am the program coordinator and case manager of a project that supports and empowers women at my church here in Syria. As a project that advocates against gender-based violence, our main goal is to raise awareness among women concerning their rights and the several types of gender-based violence, as well as reintegrating the women suffering from gender-based violence into the social tapestry by providing psychological support.
All through the month of February, multiple earthquakes and aftershocks hit Turkey and Syria, killing, injuring, and displacing tens of thousands of people in the middle of a winter storm.
On a bright Saturday in December, children from 15 different nations gathered in a small room in Beirut for a Christmas party. Jingle bells in Arabic played in the background and the children showed up in their very best – dresses, bows, and bright colors.
“There is nothing more left from life other than seeing our kids studying, reaching places, and seeing them happy. That’s our dream,” said Fawaz.
In this spirit of unity, 20 different churches and ministry institutions from the Beqaa Valley gathered in July to learn, exchange, and evaluate best practices for sustainable development.
On an early Monday morning in Anjar’s MERATH-supported church-based learning center, young Mazen came in with his classmates for a SKILD-facilitated session on psychosocial support. As part of a series on social emotional learning, that day’s lesson was on positively handling negative emotions.
Lebanon has been enduring a severe and prolonged economic depression, and it is hard to imagine that the situation could still get worse. Yet it does, every single day, and an even bigger storm is coming.