September 7, 2015
Syria
In Syria, as a result of the protracted conflict, there are more than 12 million people in critical need and five million of them are children. Four out of five people live below the poverty line in the country. The unemployment has risen to 60 %. There is a lack of food, water and hygiene equipment. For that reason Caritas in participation with other partners continues providing the food, clothes, and household equipment in Damascus.
Caritas’ Syrian partner, whose exact name we do not mention for security reasons, registers families in need as well as determines the degree of their dependence on assistance. The specific humanitarian aid is divided according to the plan per month. On the basis of precise timetable, Caritas staffs contacts selected families and lets them know when they can come over. After filling in the forms of identification they will get the required vouchers in order to pick up food, clothes and other packages. When registering, it is important to check if the persons are entitled to receive the humanitarian aid, thus avoiding the duplication of services.
In mid-June a guided missile fell too close to the center where people provide humanitarian assistance. Fortunately, the strong faith and the determination did not persuade the Caritas partners to finish or suspend their activities there. For the reasons of worsening security and traffic situations, the families had hard times until they get into the resort. Then the humanitarian staff announced new schedule for the families in order to come over again.
The humanitarian aid deliveries were miserable especially when there was long power outages that had caused trouble in copying of some main documents. Nonetheless, there were food vouchers given out to 50 families, clothing vouchers for 38 families and household equipment vouchers for 37 families.
The Caritas’s cooperating team inquired within the group of fifteen people in need and those ones who are already endowed whether they are satisfied with all services or if they would like to change something. First of all, everyone expressed their words of thanks, like: "Thank you for your smiles which are missing in the faces of the Syrians." Or: "We are grateful for anyone who respects humanity and at this point we thank you just for that."
Besides helping Syrians in a difficult situation, Caritas provides aid in another regards. People in need really appreciate personal contact with the staff, communicating while getting vouchers or continuous visits to temporary family shelters. The humanitarian workers themselves feel more motivated to work after the visits and recognition.
Caritas CR in collaboration with partner organizations continues to support the families near Damascus, as well as distributes medicines and provides health care in the northern part of the country, Idlieb and Hama. The finances were provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in CR and Humanitarian Collection for Syria.
