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CHILDREN KILLED IN ATTACK NEAR DAMASCUS CHURCH AND SCHOOL
ChristianToday
Nov 18 2013
By: Cara Taylor
Jinishian Memorial Program
According to first-hand reports Monday afternoon from Jinishian
Memorial Program (JMP) staff in Syria, mortar shells targeted at St.
Sarkis Armenian Orthodox Church and school in Damascus caused the death
of six elementary students on November 11. The property is shared by
JMP, where two staff members witnessed the tragedy and offered help
to the children and their families.
Jinishian offices in Aleppo also endured violence Monday. "The
situation was very bad," reports country director Talin Topalakian.
"Several mortar shells and bomb blasts caused damage in many houses
in Azizieh, which is a Christian area with many schools and churches."
The area had also been without electricity and water for several days.
Still, partners in Syria hold on to hope. Talin adds: "We're praying
and sure that God will give us enough patience and courage to [bear]
all these things."
"This is a day of mourning," says Jinishian executive director Eliza
Minasyan, "but also of resolve to continue bringing aid and hope
amidst these communities ravaged by violence."
Compelled by the unrelenting crisis in Syria, in April the Jinishian
Memorial Program released substantial additional reserve funds to
Armenian communities in the war zone as well as refugees in Lebanon.
Initial moneys exceeding $150,000 were immediately available for
hands-on support in Aleppo and Beirut.
Amgad Beblawi, World Mission's Coordinator for Middle East,
Central Asia and Europe observed, "This is an enormous, first-degree
humanitarian crisis." Through locally-based staff, JMP action comes
at a critical moment offering Christian support.
The Jinishian Memorial Program has served for decades and enjoys a
strong reputation within these communities. It functions holistically
as a development organization that is nimble enough to bring immediate
emergency relief to those in greatest need.
Jinishian's service to displaced Armenians throughout the Middle East
is distinctive in its ecumenical work with all Armenian Christians,
be they Apostolic, Catholic, or Evangelical. The program was founded
by the bequest of Vartan Jinishian, an Armenian-American who gave
the entirety of his fortune to enable Armenians in need to move from
poverty and despair to self-sufficiency and hope - through relief,
development, and spiritual uplift.
http://au.christiantoday.com/article/children-killed-in-attack-near-damascus-church-and-school/16496.htm
ChristianToday
Nov 18 2013
By: Cara Taylor
Jinishian Memorial Program
According to first-hand reports Monday afternoon from Jinishian
Memorial Program (JMP) staff in Syria, mortar shells targeted at St.
Sarkis Armenian Orthodox Church and school in Damascus caused the death
of six elementary students on November 11. The property is shared by
JMP, where two staff members witnessed the tragedy and offered help
to the children and their families.
Jinishian offices in Aleppo also endured violence Monday. "The
situation was very bad," reports country director Talin Topalakian.
"Several mortar shells and bomb blasts caused damage in many houses
in Azizieh, which is a Christian area with many schools and churches."
The area had also been without electricity and water for several days.
Still, partners in Syria hold on to hope. Talin adds: "We're praying
and sure that God will give us enough patience and courage to [bear]
all these things."
"This is a day of mourning," says Jinishian executive director Eliza
Minasyan, "but also of resolve to continue bringing aid and hope
amidst these communities ravaged by violence."
Compelled by the unrelenting crisis in Syria, in April the Jinishian
Memorial Program released substantial additional reserve funds to
Armenian communities in the war zone as well as refugees in Lebanon.
Initial moneys exceeding $150,000 were immediately available for
hands-on support in Aleppo and Beirut.
Amgad Beblawi, World Mission's Coordinator for Middle East,
Central Asia and Europe observed, "This is an enormous, first-degree
humanitarian crisis." Through locally-based staff, JMP action comes
at a critical moment offering Christian support.
The Jinishian Memorial Program has served for decades and enjoys a
strong reputation within these communities. It functions holistically
as a development organization that is nimble enough to bring immediate
emergency relief to those in greatest need.
Jinishian's service to displaced Armenians throughout the Middle East
is distinctive in its ecumenical work with all Armenian Christians,
be they Apostolic, Catholic, or Evangelical. The program was founded
by the bequest of Vartan Jinishian, an Armenian-American who gave
the entirety of his fortune to enable Armenians in need to move from
poverty and despair to self-sufficiency and hope - through relief,
development, and spiritual uplift.
http://au.christiantoday.com/article/children-killed-in-attack-near-damascus-church-and-school/16496.htm