CHILDREN - THE PROMISE OF A BETTER FUTURE
acnmalta.org/childrenappeal
PROTECTING AND HEALING UKRAINE’S CHILDREN At ACN backed summer camps, the children pray, play, learn and share
SUMMER CAMPS OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOPE AND HEALING Thanks to the support of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), thousands of children from crisis-torn regions such as Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel are able to take part in summer camps every year.
For Iraq and Syria, these summer camps are extremely important as the local Christian Churches are working hard to revitalise the children and young people who have suffered so much. In Egypt, another country where Christians have suffered bitterly from Islamic fundamentalism, the Coptic Catholic patriarch would like to repeat the wonderful experience of the previous year and organise summer camps for the spiritual welfare of 70 children with special needs from parishes in Cairo, Delta and Alexandria. These are children who are frequently discriminated against or
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abandoned by society, and sometimes Children e even by their own families.” ng summer ca aging in creative act mp suppo iv For many children in Kazakhstan, rted by AC ities at a N Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia “these summer camps are the best thing that happens to a resounding success. ACN wants to them during a year, and in some cases in finance again these camps that take place their whole lives,” says Sister Arousiag, a between July and August 2022. Through religious Sister in Armenia. social and religious activities (Mass, Over 18,000 children, some orphans, prayer, recreational activities, teamwork other children from the poorest families or and skills development), more than those facing all kinds of social problems, 1,000 boys and girls will live a few days have taken part in these camps from many of fellowship with other children, and different regions of Armenia. hopefully return to their homes renewed. “In summertime, when schools They will also receive psychosocial close, it is the time when children from support, which is so necessary for them to orphanages and also children from overcome the extreme situations in which poorest families or those with serious they are growing up. social problems, are most likely to be With your support, ACN will be able to found wandering in the streets,” Sister cover the costs of transportation, meals, Arousiag explains. lodging, and other essentials for summer Last year’s summer camps were camp activities.
Aid to the Church in Need (Malta), 35, Mdina Road, Attard, ATD 9038 Aid to the Church in Need is a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church and registered in Malta Reg. No. LPF-212, as a Foundation regulated by the second schedule of the Civil Code Chapter (16) of the Laws of Malta. VO/2227
The ongoing war in Ukraine has taken a terrible toll on families, especially children. Over two million children are displaced and separated from their loved ones as they flee the war in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, the Archdiocese of IvanoFrankivsk, in Western Ukraine, has been welcoming women and children refugees. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supports the Archdiocese in this effort.
A priest giving a food package to grandmother Tetiana and her grandchild Vasilisa
Ulyana showing her painting of the Ukrainian flag
Vasilisa and Ulyana are among the hundreds of displaced children who have found refuge in Saint Basil school, one of the shelters operated by the Greek Catholic Archdiocese which has been hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs). The classrooms in this school have been converted into dormitories which can take up to 100 people. Both persons have been living there for several days and one of the things they are most grateful for is not having to be afraid of falling asleep. “My parents stayed back, but now they don’t need to worry about us anymore, because here in the school it is peaceful, and we are well. They give us three meals a day and we go to music and art classes,
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where we sing and draw. Yesterday, we played in the school grounds, and we had to look for the snowman from the ‘Frozen’ cartoon. It was fun,” Vasilisa and Ulyana explain. Yulya, a displaced mother who has also taken refuge in one of the diocesan refugee centres with her children told ACN: “Since we arrived here, the children can sleep on beds and under a roof, free from the sounds of gunshots and explosions. The Priests give us all that we need; hot food, a place to stay, beds and even school material so that the children can continue to follow their classes online. We are grateful, from the bottom of our hearts, to all the benefactors, who allow our children to go on living with dignity.”