Template:Humanitarian Aid Updates
LDS Church Helps Refugees of Syria's Civil War
As an insurgency in the nation of Syria displaces tens of thousands of refugees, many of these have fled to neighboring Jordan. LDS Charities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has donated over $590,000 worth of supplies for these refugees, plus another $588,000 to be allocated in the coming months.
- “Our focus has been on the particular needs of women and children,” Sharon Eubank said, citing numbers from a recent New York Times story indicating that half of the refuges are under 12 years of age, and women in the refugee camps outnumber the men two to one.
- “As the crisis unfolded in Syria it became more difficult for people to stay there,” Eubank said.
- “More and more people started coming across the border into Jordan. At first they were absorbed into the cities and towns, but soon the cities couldn’t absorb any more. The refugees were straining the country’s infrastructure."
- “In June there were 400 infants in the camps under four months old,” she said. “They were desperate for diapers and formula…”
- “For LDS Charities, Eubank said, “there is no expectation or even hope that there will be some reciprocal benefit for the church” from the humanitarian efforts.” [1]
- “LDS Charities has been a valued and trusted partner in assisting us to meet the needs of those coming in to Jordan seeking relief,” said Ayman R. Al-Mufleh, secretary general of the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization. “This is a strong and important partnership and we are grateful for it.”
The Jordanian government had begun establishing refugee camps in May, but they were soon overflowing. It is important to understand that many Iraqis had fled the Iraq war by going to Syria, so Syria was already housing refugees when her own troubles began.
- “We’ve been working in the Middle East for 10 years,” Eubank said, “so we already had volunteer couples on the ground there who had established relationships and infrastructure through their work on our wheelchair project, our neonatal resuscitation project and the other humanitarian efforts we are making in the area.”
- Working in coordination with the Jordanian government, full-time LDS humanitarian missionaries Jim and Karyn Anderson and Bret and Ruth Ann Youngberg immediately started buying supplies and assembling hygiene kits to meet a need that was growing every day. Because there are so few Latter-day Saints in the area — there are fewer than 200 Mormons in Jordan, and the church does not proselyte there as it is not officially recognized by the government — the humanitarian missionaries worked closely with other local religious groups, including the Greek Orthodox Church and the Latin Catholic Church, as well as students from the University of Jordan to put the kits together.
With winter coming, there is special concern for refugees who arrived with only the clothes they were wearing:
- “Many of these people cross the border with just what they are wearing,” Eubank said. “We’ve sent boots, blankets and coats for those who are in need of winter clothing. We’re still coordinating with the government, trying to anticipate future needs.”
Because of the dusty summer, and coming wet weather, the LDS Church has sent material to lay over the ground to help with dust and muddy conditions. Such foresight is rare among charitable organizations.
Eubank explained that the Church of Jesus Christ will again be partnering with Islamic Relief to extend aid into the future.
- “We don’t care about your religion or your ethnicity or anything else,” she said. “If you need help, we are trying to respond.”
Donations for LDS Church relief efforts can be made at LDS Emergency Response.
