In February 2023, the Presidency proposed fundraising to help the people in Turkey and Syria affected by the earthquake on 6 February 2023.
During 2023, €64,439.45 was collected.
The Presidency decided to send the money collected through the Custody of the Holy Land. Since there are no OFS Fraternities in Turkey, with two transfers, the sum of € 25,000.00 was sent to the OFS Fraternity of Latakia (Syria) to fr Fadi Assad, OFM.
Thanks to the Area Councillor’s direct contact, the process has been followed and the money has been received, so the remaining amount will be sent as soon as possible.
With the money received so far, the OFS Fraternity with the OFM friars have realised:
1) 20 photovoltaic systems were built to help 20 families. The war in Syria, the UN sanctions, the Covid and finally the earthquake have created profound discomfort and suffering for the population, especially children and young people. A serious emergency is the lack of electricity (today 98% of children would need glasses because they are forced to study with little light). That is why the OFS Fraternity of Latakia with the spiritual assistant and parish priest decided to use the donations received to install these systems, helping very needy families with young children or teenagers.
2) renovation of the homes of more than 6 families in Latakia affected by the earthquake. For many families, the worst nightmare was having to abandon their homes because it was no longer safe to continue living there. € 5,000.00
All invoices and declarations of the beneficiaries of the donations were provided.
A message from Franciscan Fr. Fadi in Italian: