The Parish Church of St George the Martyr, Waterlooville

Autumn 2015

From the Vicar of Baghdad


Dear Friends,

Thanks to your kind support, prayers and generous donations, The Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FRRME) continues to do amazing work, providing relief and reconciliation to our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. Here is an update of that work:

Iraq

Things in Iraq are not getting any better. FRRME’s committed team on the ground, led by Dr Sarah, has been working non-stop to alleviate the suffering of those struggling to survive. This year, our work in Iraq has grown and we are helping more people every day.

In Baghdad we are providing relief to families, including food and medical treatment. FRRME's clinic at St. George's Church continues to provide medical care free of charge, including emergency operations. We are also providing living expenses for people caring for family members with physical or learning disabilities.

In the north of Iraq the needs are enormous. Thousands of people have fled ISIS and are living in refugee camps in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan. In addition to food provision, FRRME's medical relief program in northern Iraq covers a myriad of needs, from chronic illness prescriptions for the elderly to lice and scabies medicine. FRRME also provides financial assistance to IDPs (Internally Displaced People) with disabled family members.

FRRME also works with other church organisations to provide education for the children. We have a small school that has been in operation for the past eight months and we now have a summer school that hosts around 150 students. All the teachers are IDPs themselves.

Jordan

We continue to help hundreds of Iraqi refugee families in Amman, providing them with food, shelter, medicine and an education for their children. Our Relief  Workers, Christy and Richard, assist with relief distribution, which includes making sure that families receive food coupons. They also assist with relocation, helping families to find a proper place to live, whether in Jordan or farther afield.

Heather and Joel, our other Relief Workers in Amman, assist with our school - the Marka Learning Centre - which provides a safe environment for Iraqi refugee children to continue their education. They also help with medical provision, making sure that patients have access to our health clinic and that the cost of treatment is met.

There is also Peter, who as well as helping oversee the vital project work in Jordan and the Middle East is also my Assistant. FRRME's team in Jordan is making a substantive and positive difference to the lives of Iraqi refugees displaced by sectarian violence and persecution. Long may our work there continue.

Israel / Palestine

In the first week of September, I launched  the Jerusalem International School of Reconciliation, or ‘JISR’ (which means ‘Bridge’ in Arabic).

A significant part of FRRME's work in the Middle East centres on reconciliation and JISR will provide a new platform for this work. To launch the school, we have a week-long programme of speaking sessions with key religious figures, including myself, Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior and (we hope) the Grand Imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque.

Sessions will focus on religious history, the Israel / Palestine conflict, and the methods of reconciliation. There will also be visits to important religious sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and Mount Gerizim which will provide a valuable context.

It is so important that we introduce a new generation to reconciliation work. For this reason, I am really looking forward to the launch of JISR.


Canon Andrew White

Emeritus Vicar of Baghdad

donate at: frrme.org/donate

Iraqi refugee children at the
Marka Learning Centre  in Amman