Caritas Syria (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: ,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ) is a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

charitable and

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

organisation. It is a member of the global

Caritas Internationalis Caritas Internationalis (Latin for ) is a confederation of 162 national Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The name Caritas Internationalis refers to both the ...

confederation and of the regional Caritas Middle East and North Africa.

History and work

Caritas Syria was founded by the Council of the heads of the Catholic Churches in Syria in 1954, at the time of the

Syrian Republic Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. It was previously known by the French name (). For a long time, the level of activities of the organisation was relatively limited and localised. In the 1990s, Caritas Syria provided aid to the many

Iraqi refugees Throughout the 20th century, Iraq witnessed multiple periods of instability and conflict that prompted the creation and flight of many refugees. Earlier examples include the exodus of Iraqi Jews and the flight of Iraqi Kurds. The Iraqi invasi ...

arriving in the country in the aftermath of the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. Similar support was given following the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and during the Iraqi civil war (2006–2008). With the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Caritas Syria significantly scaled up its work across the country, quickly becoming an important humanitarian actor. The organisation provided relief in the form of food and basic items and was active in the sectors of education, support for the elderly, psycho-social support for children, housing assistance, and repairs of houses damaged by the fighting. In 2015, Caritas provided support to over 205,000 persons in Syria. This support included distributing food and other essential items for everyday use, such as clothes, dishes, blankets, and cleaning agents. Additionally, Caritas offered assistance with rent payments and medical needs, along with education for children and help for the elderly. In general, Caritas Syria provides assistance both in the form of

in-kind The term in kind (or in-kind) generally refers to goods, services, and transactions not involving money or not measured in monetary terms. It is a part of many spheres, mainly economics, finance, but also politics, work career, food, health and o ...

distributions and of

Cash and Voucher Assistance In the realm of humanitarian aid, Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) is recognized as an umbrella term for two of the common modalities of assistance for delivering swift and flexible humanitarian aid support to populations affected by various cris ...

. A Caritas employee was killed during a bombing of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

in April 2015; a Caritas volunteer died during another bombing the following year. After the

2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes On 6 February 2023, at 04:17 Time in Turkey, TRT (01:17 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), a 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Ba'athist Syria, Syria. The epicenter was west–northwest ...

, Caritas Syria also mobilised quickly its network of staff and volunteers to provide help through 71 centres in the most affected area, notably

and

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

. They distributed thousands of food packages and hygiene kits and more than 10,000 blankets. Caritas Syria also contributed to the reconstruction of 20 schools and 330 individual shelters. Despite being a Catholic organisation, Caritas Syria serves all persons independently of their religious or political affiliations. The organisation works with various religious communities and cooperates with

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

and

Sunnite Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

humanitarian organisations. Caritas Syria's work has been funded by UN agencies such as

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

and other member organisations of the

confederation.

Caritas Switzerland Caritas Switzerland (German: , French: , Italian: , Romansh language, Romansh: ) is a Swiss Catholic Church, Catholic not-for-profit organisation. Its mission is to prevent, combat and alleviate poverty. It is a member of both Caritas Europa and ...

also maintains a country office in Damascus and cooperates with Caritas Syria.

Presidents

* 2001–?:

Youssef Absi Youssef Absi ''Società dei Missionari di San Paolo'' – Missionary Society of St. Paul (Melkite Greek); se (; ; born 20 June 1946, in Damascus, First Syrian Republic, Syria) is the current Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, patriarch of ...

* 2010–2018: Antoine Audo, Chaldean Eparchs of Aleppo * Currently: Jean-Abdo Arbach, archeparch of the

Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Homs (in Latin: Archeparchy Hemesena Graecorum Melkitarum-Epiphaniensis-Iabrudensis) is a nominally Metropolitan Archeparchy (Eastern Catholic archdiocese) of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (Byzantine Rite, ...

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

and

Yabroud Yabroud or Yabrud () is a city in Syria, located in the ''Rif Dimashq Governorate, Rif Dimashq'' (i.e. Damascus' countryside) Governorates of Syria, governorate about north of the capital Damascus. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Charities based in Syria Social justice organizations Organizations established in 1954 Catholic Church in Syria

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...