Blog: The Middle East

Refugee Families in Jordan

When increasing violence gave families no choice but to leave their homes, possessions, jobs and bank accounts to seek safety in neighboring Jordan and Lebanon, the future became suddenly unclear. Hopes and dreams became a distant memory as these families settled into refugee camps or other temporary housing. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. School aged children will likely reap the most far reaching consequences of this awful conflict.

In this guest post from Monique Newman, a GHNI volunteer, you will travel to Jordan alongside her group from California. Monique became an eager GHNI volunteer in 2010 on her first trip to Jordan and it stole her heart. She has served many struggling to survive and recovering from trauma in the refuge of Jordan, far from their homelands. She found personally visiting and seeing the life-transforming power of compassion a compelling enterprise.

From the desk of Pavla Kasporova, Assistant Regional Field Leader for the Holy Land, enjoy this heart-warming account of one of GHNI’s dedicated field leaders.

The whole region is in crises. All the violence and suffering in Gaza, Israel, West Bank, Syria, Iraq, ... and yet, there are reasons to be filled with joy and hope. For example, our partner, Joe*, just welcomed his third child!

Joe grew up at his grandma’s place in a small village alongside his 6 brothers and sisters. From an early age, he knew the most important thing in life is love.

Originally written as a press release by Bethany Marinelli, U.S. Communications Coordinator, this interview with Mike Parks, GHNI's Disaster Relief Director, answers many questions about what is really happening in the continuous conflicts in the Middle East.

An urgent email sent recently to Hal Jones, President of GHNI, from a GHNI leader in the *Holy Land stated:

“In the disaster area...more than 500 people are killed, 3500 injured, and ninety thousand people left their homes and evacuated up to this moment...there is lack of emergency medicine in hospitals. Everything you offer, it helps. Many children are orphans without families.

Out of milk and eggs? Just pull your car into the supermarket on your way home from work. Easy, right? Your children will have a nice high-protein breakfast in the morning so they can be successful in school. You have a post-workout calcium boost to supplement your bones and muscles. But, what if you lived in rural Jordan without a car or money enough to buy food for you and your children? Also, the nearest market is a half-day walk from your village.

*10^th Leper Village, Holy Land

A cluster of villages in the Holy Land which we call 10^th Leper Village is the newest addition to GHNI’s Transformational Community Development (TCD) program.  The people in this village cluster have endured generations of poverty resulted from lack of employment, health care, and education opportunities.  Recent wars in surrounding areas have brought refugee camps to further diminish the villagers’ livelihoods. 

No matter where you live, poverty exists.  What we see on our national news, it is just the glimpse of the extreme poverty in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.  Much of the world’s poverty is hidden, covered or ignored in our modern existence.  It is too much for us to bear!

GHNI workers cannot turn away from the realities. Our field workers walk daily alongside hidden and hurting communities. They watch as villages transform before their eyes.  There is a solution to poverty and it lies within villagers; it lies within those currently living in poverty.

While the Syrian people have not endured an easy road, our leaders in Jordan have been able to capture glimpses of hope in the refugees there.  You’ll be so moved by this story from GHNI-Jordan about two women’s special meeting.

It’s always inspiring to hear about the growth happening in the House of Ruth, a community center serving a cluster of villages in rural Jordan. In their latest update, the GHNI-Jordan team shares how even the students have been inspired by our presence!

House of Ruth, Jordan

“With the multiple English classes running, seeing progress through students’ ability to speak and read has been refreshing. We are excited to have a newly equipped classroom and the students are excited as well.