Due to the socioeconomic situation in Lebanon coupled with the prolonged crisis in the region, unemployment has hit a record high in the country, affecting women specifically. As a result, many were left jobless and without any sources of livelihood to consider nor any source of income. This is why the MECC Service and Relief – Diakonia Department, Beirut’s office, under the support of the international humanitarian organization Embrace the Middle East (EME), was compelled to launch Women Empowerment initiatives so that to mitigate economic burdens. Vocational training, a key element in this regard, would provide opportunities for the improvement of livelihood and therefore community resilience.

The Lebanese Health Sector Is Suffering

The Middle East Council of Churches continued, during the month of July, to vaccinate children and distribute medication which prices have skyrocketed in Lebanon. Thus, the Service and Relief – Diakonia Department, Beirut’s Office, is keen to accompany the neediest on the health side, at Our Lady Dispensary, affiliated to MECC and located in Sabtieh region. Beneficiaries visited the Dispensary and were tended to by dedicated doctors as per regular basis. In some cases, in which the beneficiaries are old and cannot leave the house, medications were distributed directly to their homes.

In fact, the health work of the Middle East Council of Churches is implemented at a time when the health sector in Lebanon is paralyzed due to the tighten financial conditions and the economic and health crises that have cast a shadow over all the state institutions. Therefore, the citizens were negatively affected and are not able to have access to health services.

The following report video, which was broadcasted on Sama TV, sheds light on the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) campaign launched by the Diakonia and Social Service Department, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s Office, within the Cash for Work Program, aiming at supporting the local community and preserving the beauty and cleanliness of the city. The campaign included roads sweeping, removal and transportation of waste from the city entrances and squares, as well as removing the dry grass from the roads.

The Service and Relief Department- Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria’s office, launched a WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) campaign in Dara’a city to support the local community. This activity was implemented within the Cash for Work Program.

The two-month campaign contributes to providing temporary job opportunities for 100 workers including women and persons with disabilities.

During the month of May 2022, the MECC, as part of its effort to provide Humanitarian relief to victims of protracted crises, held several activities at Our Lady Dispensary in Sabtieh, Sad El Bouchrieh. Activities took on themes related to: soft skills, psycho social support, Gender Based Violence, and health awareness. The objective of such endeavors is to allow people to get back on their feet, after several traumas had shaped their lives.

Department of Diakonia and Ecumenical Relief

Since its establishment, the Middle East Council of Churches has sought to protect the neediest and most vulnerable groups, preserving their rights and dignity through its various humanitarian programs that include relief and development, justice, peace, human rights and advocacy, migrants and refugees. The following video, entitled “A Story of Success”, emphasizes the MECC relief work through the Diakonia Department and the Ecumenical Relief Program, and the most prominent humanitarian programs and activities which are being implemented by the Department in various countries of the Middle East, which is suffering under the weight of social, economic, health and security crises...

The General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches issues its annual report for the year 2021 under the title of "Against Wind and Waves: Challenging the Challenges". The report presents the MECC activities and the achievements it has accomplished at various ecumenical, theological and humanitarian levels.

Noting that international challenges and fluctuations occurred during 2021 and cast their shadows on the wounded Middle East, which was affected by the repercussions of these global and regional developments.

MECC Sorrows Hope in Their Homes

“I cannot express how happy I am with this aid! will share it with my brother’s family”, “You’ve restored my faith in humanity! I haven’t received any aid for a long time”, “Hygienic and cleaning products are expensive, so we can’t afford it”… As such, elderly women in Lebanon expressed their urgent need for a glimmer of hope and support amidst the social collapse that made them drown in despair due to the economic, social and health crises... they are witnessing as all the Lebanese people.

A Follow Up to the MECC Training Courses and Programs in Amman

The Regional Director of the Service and Relief Department - Diakonia at the Middle East Council of Churches visited the MECC office in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, where the office’s Director Mrs. Wafaa Al Qusous welcomed him. The visit aimed at following up the ongoing projects and looking forward to organize future programs in order to achieve the desired ecumenical and humanitarian goals.

El Departamento de Servicio y Ayuda – Diakonia, de la oficina del Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio en Siria, puso en marcha un programa de formación profesional para ayudar a los jóvenes a entrar en el mercado laboral en Damasco y en la zona rural de Damasco. En la formación participaron 50 jóvenes de entre 18 y 45 años.

Las profesiones que se impartieron fueron peluquería masculina, formación de chef y sastrería y tuvieron una duración de más de dos meses.

The Service and Relief Department - Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches, Syria office, implemented a vocational training program aiming at supporting youth to enter the labor market in Damascus and Rural Damascus. 50 young trainees aged 18 to 45 participated in the trainings.

The professions taught were men hairdressing, chef training and tailoring and lasted for more than two months.

Bajo el patrocinio del Reverendo Dr. Haroutian Souleiman, jefe de la Iglesia Armenia en Siria, la Iglesia Protestante Armenia, y en cooperación con el Consejo de Iglesias del Oriente Medio, se celebró una ceremonia de graduación para los participantes en los cursos profesionales organizados en la gobernación de Alepo, con la presencia del Presidente de la Cámara de Comercio de Alepo Amer Hamwi.

Durante la ceremonia, se distribuyeron kits de herramientas profesionales a 87 beneficiarios destacados de los cursos profesionales para ayudarles a iniciar sus propios negocios.

The Service and Relief Department - Diakonia, Beirut office, at the Middle East Council of Churches, implemented a Women Empowerment program in cooperation with the municipality of Kfartebnite, South Lebanon. The program aimed at supporting women and developing their capabilities through their participation in training courses during which they learned new skills.

The video gives more details about the program and presents the expectations of the participants.

Under the patronage of Reverend Dr. Haroutian Souleiman, head of the Armenian Church in Syria, the Armenian Protestant Church, and in cooperation with the Middle East Council of Churches, held a graduation ceremony for the participants in the professional courses organized in Aleppo Governorate, with the presence of the President of the Aleppo Chamber of Commerce Amer Hamwi.

During the ceremony, professional tool kits were distributed to 87 outstanding beneficiaries of the professional courses in order to help them start their own businesses.

Standing Together Towards a More Sustainable Partnership

The General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches held its annual meeting with its international and regional partner organizations and institutions, online, on Thursday, March 24, 2022. The meeting aimed at exchanging point of views and experiences in order to develop the MECC role and to ameliorate the work mechanisms in order to achieve the desired goals, and work together for a more effective future partnership.

Saint Georges’ School Bsalim: A Model of the Struggle of Lebanese Schools

Turn to the abyss! These words were said years ago about a sector considered one of the most crucial basic facilities for building societies. The Lebanese education sector has always formed a major lifeline and has been a factor for prosperity and progress, but today it is reaching rock bottom. This is a bitter reality that the educational institutions in the Middle East must now faceat the ional, especially following the outbreak of the economic and cost-of-living crises in the midst of the dangerous health conditions that were manifested by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, at the Middle East Council of Churches distributed food and hygiene kits to poor families in Dara’a Al Balad in Dara’a Governorate.

In addition to the food and hygiene kits, the families having children aged 4 and below received infant kits so that each of these families received a maximum of three kits.

Read Sajida’s Story

White mask, palette of 6 colors: yellow, pink, blue, violet, black and gold.

A 12-year-old girl took a brush and chose the blue and black. She painted the mask with these two colors and then chose the yellow to paint the remaining white part of the mask.

The story of the mask and colors was narrated by Sajida Ismail Dib who hid her sadness by her smile.

You can find a video about the MECC activities in support of Iraqi refugees in Syria since the beginning of the war in Iraq until the end of 2011, with the support of the MECC’s partners and local Churches in Syria. The video was presented during the Council’s 10th General Assembly, held between 29 and 30 November 2011 in Paphos, Cyprus, under the title of “And all who believed were one heart” (Acts 4: 32).

You can find a video prepared by the Middle East Council of Churches in Syria shedding light on the reconstruction work at the Private Secondary School of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Aleppo, Syria. The school was restored and rehabilitated within the “Restoration Fund for Rehabilitation of Faith-based Social Services & Religious Infrastructure Damaged During the Crisis in Syria” program implemented by MECC in cooperation with Kerk in Actie in Netherlands, in various Syrian governorates.