Jordan Emergency Appeal
It is with immense sadness that we must again ask for your urgent help with assisting thousands of refugees in Jordan. The Comboni Missionary Sisters and the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation desperately need your help to fund their vital work. Seven years of war in Syria have created the world’s largest refugee crisis and, […]
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It is with immense sadness that we must again ask for your urgent help with assisting thousands of refugees in Jordan. The Comboni Missionary Sisters and the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation desperately need your help to fund their vital work. Seven years of war in Syria have created the world’s largest refugee crisis and, with no end in sight, thousands of refugees from Syria still need your help. In a country with no free healthcare, your donations fund the Sisters’ work, providing desperate refugees with vital emergency medical care at two hospitals. Life-saving surgery and complications relating to childbirth are just some of the challenges the hospital staff face. The Sisters at the hospitals have reached out to us for help, stating:
EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE JORDANIAN GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED NEW RULES THAT SIGNIFICANTLY HIKED THE COST OF PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES. HUNDREDS OF SICK REFUGEES SUFFER EVERY DAY AND CANNOT AFFORD THE INFLATED MEDICAL COSTS, WHICH HAVE INCREASED FIVE TIMES THE AMOUNT IN SOME AREAS. DISTRESSINGLY, THIS HAS INCREASED THE DEATH TOLL AMONGST REFUGEES, PARTICULARLY IN INFANT MORTALITY. THIS IS THE MAIN REASON FOR OUR CRY FOR HELP, WE NEED URGENT DONATIONS TO HELP US CONTINUE SAVING THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF REFUGEES.” – SR . ALESSANDRA FUMAGALLI
Over 2.7 million refugees have entered Jordan, desperately trying to escape civil wars in Palestine, Iraq and Syria.
The refugees’ struggle
Imagine how you would feel if you went on holiday with your family and some suitcases, only to be told, while you were away, that you could never come home. Ever. How long could you survive on the contents of your luggage and the cash in your pocket? This is the situation that refugees face. Except they weren’t going on holiday. Their former homes have been reduced to rubble, family members killed, and all hope gone. The lack of media coverage in Jordan, means the world just isn’t aware of the problems refugees are facing when they arrive in Jordan. With humanitarian aid in short supply and no free health care, your donations are as important as ever.
The Sisters inform us that thousands of refugees try to get work to support their families daily, but with the government only giving approximately 30% of these refugees work permits, many are unable to work, no matter what skills they possess. There is a beacon of light amid all this hopelessness. Two beacons in fact. These are the two ‘Italian Hospitals’, located in Karak and Amman, and run by the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation and the Comboni Missionary Sisters. Founded 90 years ago by an Italian priest, to attend to the needs of the poor and refugees, these are bastions of hope for those in extreme distress and hardship. The Sisters selflessly donate their time, energy, faith and their love for all humanity. But they can do nothing without the essential supplies that are needed.
The hospitals are a beacon of light for refugees in Jordan who have nowhere else to turn.
4-year-old MOHD
Little Mohd had been very poorly for some time. His desperate parents had nowhere else to turn so took him to the Italian Hospital in Amman. The Sisters noticed that Mohd’s parents had travelled so far from their refugee camp, hungry, exhausted and with no money for food or a place to stay.
The Sisters fed Mohd’s family and let them stay at the hospital with him. The surgeon performed an emergency tonsillectomy on the little boy and he is now doing really well.
IT COSTS THE SISTERS £1,185 TO PROVIDE TREATMENT OF THIS NATURE
25-year-old SABAH
Sabah was suffering with excruciating abdominal pain and bleeding. She could not afford the treatment at the local government-run hospital near her refugee camp. In pain and in desperate need of medical
attention, she travelled to the Italian hospital in Amman where she could receive free treatment. Sabah received lifesaving surgery for severe bleeding in her uterus. The doctors were able to save her life by performing an emergency hysterectomy. The Sisters cared for Sabah for free and looked after her until she made a full recovery.
THE COST OF THIS TREATMENT WAS £1,650. WITHOUT YOUR GENEROUS HELP AND SUPPORT, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT, LEFT UNTREATED, SABAH WOULD HAVE DIED.
The Karak hospital is treating a minimum of 300 people a day. The hospital staff are stretched, and medical supplies are urgently needed to save the lives of thousands of refugees from Syria and surrounding countries. We are so lucky to have a free health service in the UK, but refugees in Jordan are not so lucky.
With 1 in 3 people in Amman being a refugee, the situation is dire and urgent funds are required.
All around the world, people just like you are being forced to flee their homes because of war and persecution. IRT does all it can to help those in the most desperate need. Jordan has already faced waves of refugees arriving from Palestine and Iraq. Now it is struggling to cope with the massive influx of Syrians desperately seeking safety. Your donations are a Godsend to those in need.
CHILDREN UNDER 15, MAKE UP 48% OF THE SYRIAN REFUGEE POPULATION IN JORDAN.
Sister Elizabeth’s word:
Matthew 25:40 ‘Whatever you did for the least of My brothers you did unto Me’
‘I personally ensure that all of the patients we treat, these, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, are treated with dignity. I also insist this with my employees at the hospital so all patients are treated equally. We are created in the likeness of God himself and we must respect all.’ Thank you for helping us to continue God’s work and God Bless’. Sr. Elizabeth Mary Chakkiath O.P.
Refugees in Jordan barely have enough money to survive let alone pay for vital medical care.
A word from Steven Smith MBE, CEO, International Refugee Trust:
“International Refugee Trust is a small charity and we rely on support from individuals to help refugees and vulnerable families in developing countries.
Many of the projects we support are run by Missionary Sisters. Often working in dangerous and distressing conditions, they dedicate their lives to helping those facing severe hardship on a daily basis. Your donations are received with heartfelt gratitude and joy. They make such an amazing difference!
We ask you at this most Holy time of year to help the Holy Sisters with God’s mission to the Syrian refugees and IRT’s projects in aid of those whose lives have been torn apart by war and conflict. Thank you for your generous support.”
Help save lives and donate generously.