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CWS Appeal: Christmas Season / Middle East

Schoolchildren at Souane Elementary School in Lebanon have been able to return to the classroom now that a CWS partner has repaired their building. Photo: Toya Hill/ACT

November 28, 2006

2006 has been a year of continuing chaos and uncertainty in the Middle East. The Israeli-Palestinian stalemate continues with no end in sight, as does the war in Iraq; tensions in the region worsened during the summer of 2006 with the war between Israel and factions within Lebanon that uprooted hundreds of thousands from their homes both in Lebanon and Israel. Recent political assassinations in Lebanon have added to regional uncertainty and tensions.

Given the significance of these events; the importance the Christian community places on the region where Christ was born, lived and died; and the fact that Christians are about to begin their holiday commemoration of Christ's birth, Church World Service is issuing a special omnibus appeal to our constituents, denominational supporters and partners to address a number of humanitarian needs throughout the region.

Your contributions will help support:

Shipments of CWS School Kits, Health Kits and Kids Kits to the region, to assist displaced members of the area’s Christian community and others who have had to flee their homes in recent years. "This is God's work," Wafa Goussous, director of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) office in Jordan said about the shipment and support of U.S. Christians for humanitarian help in the region.

Efforts to support the Lutheran World Federation (LWF)-Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in Jerusalem which, on a monthly basis, has been supplying about 1,700 medical procedures for Palestinians, including dialysis, radiation, chemotherapy, endoscopy and head-neck treatments. Such medical care continues in the wake of a continued international boycott of providing funds to the Palestinian Authority.

CWS is also supporting the work of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), a long-time CWS partner long engaged in humanitarian work, including the provision of food, health and educational support for residents of Gaza and the West Bank. "We can't lose hope; otherwise it will be a disaster for the Palestinians," Constantine S. Dabbagh, executive director of the MECC’s Committee for Refugee Work, recently told a CWS staff member visiting the Gaza Strip.

Efforts in the region by the MECC and International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), as they continue work in parts of Lebanon recovering from the summer war. MECC is providing food and non-food aid, as well as health, psychosocial and economic recovery activities, while IOCC is providing non-food assistance, economic recovery activities, as well as a program to rebuild schools and water systems.

"Repairing Civil Society," an effort by Interns for Peace to engage Jewish and Arab leaders in Israel to work together in a trauma healing initiative in their communities.

Contributions to support these efforts may be sent to your denomination or directly to:

Church World Service, Christmas Season/Middle East (Account #6821), P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515

Contributions may also be made by credit card online, or by calling: (800) 297-1516, ext. 222.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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