2021 CHRISTMAS PROJECT REPORT: CHILDREN CAUGHT IN CRISIS
NAZARENE COMPASSIONATE MINISTRIES
Thank You for Showing Compassion to Children Caught in Crisis All over the world, children are caught up in economic crises, famines, environmental disasters, and conflict. More than 80 million people around the world have been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of persecution and violence. Of those who are displaced, more than a third are children. As dependents, children of families in transition become even more vulnerable to social and political instability. The 2021 Christmas Project has focused on providing spiritual, educational, physical, and emotional care for children caught in crisis around the world. Schools in Jordan and Lebanon, outreach ministries to people living as refugees in Bangladesh, and programs for feeding the hungry in Venezuela are just some of the ministries of compassion that show the love of God to children in need.
The Nazarene school in Lebanon serves children, like the girls pictured above, as well as their families.
In the Dominican Republic, the Children for the Future program provides children with school supplies, vaccines, and vitamins.
Children of the Rohingya tribe from Myanmar connect with a Nazarene ministry that operates within a refugee camp in Bangladesh.
A Nazarene school in Jordan educates and ministers to 124 children, many of whom are living there as refugees.
A ministry in the Philippines provides temporary housing, education, medical attention and spiritual care for children rescued from online sexual exploitation.
Aleyna’s Story For one family in Lebanon, the Nazarene school in Beirut has been more than a place to learn, it has become a place of refuge. Aleyna*, 14, and her sister, Dina, 13, have been attending the Nazarene school since they were small. When Aleyna’s father passed away eight years ago, her mother had neither a steady income nor a network of support. Many who knew the girls’ father wanted Aleyna and Dina to enter an orphanage, believing the children would receive better care there. Desperate to protect her family, Aleyna’s mother approached the principal of the Nazarene school for help. The staff at the school waived the tuition fees and connected the mother with a lawyer who helped her maintain custody of her children. Lebanon is currently facing a financial crisis that has raised the price of daily necessities tenfold. Inflation has impacted school fees, teacher salaries, and every aspect of life. “The teachers, the parents, the students—everyone has an increase in trauma,” the school counselor shared. Many families are experiencing what Aleyna’s did. Time and again, however, news about the Nazarene school has spread: they are like a family. For Aleyna, that family is creating a safe space for her and her sister to grow in the midst of crisis. *Children’s names are changed for safety.
Learn more at ncm.org/christmas