On the 22nd of July 2021, with the presence of the Hungarian Council Mr. Mr.Szabolcs Tüttő , and the l'Œuvre d'Orient delegation headed by Mgr. Pascal Gollnisch, Mr. Jean-Yves Tholot, Mr. Vincent Gelot, Ms. Armelle Milcent and Mr.Xavier Istvan Sixtus Carr Bisits on behalf of Aid to the church in need we celebrated the opening ceremony of our Livelihood program, the Micro Project Program, in the heart of the old city and among the oldest churches in the world, Bab Sharqi. Our partners shared with us that important moment and assured their readiness for any support or assistance we may need in our newborn branch.

After a few days of the opening, the preparations have started with a three-day training for the team in the head office in Aleppo. During the training the team was able to see the actual work in reality and touch the spiritual side of Hope center’s mission.

The team was back to Damascus full of enthusiasm and desire to continue what we have achieved, have their own experience, and become a great part of our hope path.

In September, the team in Damascus went through another intensive training for five days, prepared and given by Micro projects team of Aleppo. That training enriched our staff in Damascus with all the information and details needed to their start and the training ended with overviewing practical cases that cover the common scenarios the new team might encounter in the foreseeable future.

After the training, the staff started planning their work and introducing themselves to the churches in Damascus to reach as many families as possible.

At the beginning of October 2021, the doors of Micro project office in Damascus were opened to welcome the first visitors, who came with hesitation and timidity and left with optimism and hope.

Within the last two months, our partners (the ACN directors in the area and the l'Œuvre d'Orient representatives) visited our humble office in Damascus, shared with our team their thoughts and opinions, gave them their attention and support, and left them satisfied and pleased. 

Moreover, to enhance our mission and endeavor, we were informed that Caritas Poland became an additional sponsor for our branch in Damascus, which strengthened our will and desire to serve more effectively and efficiently.

Now and after about 4 months of the opening, our staff in Damascus celebrated their first beneficiary Rania Sekarieh, with pleasure and happiness that couldn’t be imagined.

We all know how hope is important in all people’s lives, but in our country, hope sometimes keeps all of us alive.