Pope Francis is urging governments to find a political solution to the war in Syria as part of the Caritas Internationalis ‘Syria: Peace is Possible’ campaign
Address: Jebel Amman, 4th Circle, Bumedian Street (44), 11181 Jordan
Postal Address: P.O. Box 2258, Amman 11181, Jordan
Telephone: +962 6 59 39236 Fax: +962 6 4619005
Email: headoffice@caritasjordan.org.jo
Facebook: caritasjordan Twitter: CaritasJordan Instagram: Caritas.Jordan
www.caritasjordan.org.jo
Caritas Jordan’s long tradition of working on behalf of the poor and vulnerable commenced in 1967 when it responded to the humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees fleeing their native country after the Six Day War with Israel. Since the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948, Jordan has been considered the safest and closest haven for Palestinian refugees coming from the West Bank. To date, hundreds of thousands of immigrants have crossed Jordanian borders.
Since its establishment, Caritas Jordan has evolved into a broader organisation that makes its contribution by fighting poverty and supporting the social development of Jordanian society in various areas, providing assistance and services to around 100 000 people per year. Caritas has faced many challenges. In addition to the refugee crisis, inflation and inequality have grown rapidly in the country. Unemployment has now become chronic, as the prices of basic goods are steadily rising. At the same time, Caritas continues to respond to major emergencies stemming from conflicts all around the Middle East region, working in close cooperation with other local and international organisations.
Caritas Jordan has 22 centres spread across the country, in order to serve many people in the northern, southern and central regions of Jordan. Ideally, the centres include GP clinics, dental clinics, child-friendly spaces and rooms for training and capacity building. The centres receive all humanitarian cases and provide the necessary health, education, humanitarian, awareness-raising and counselling services. Its main programmes come within the areas of Primary Health Care, Refugees and Migrant Workers Services, Humanitarian Assistance for Jordanians, Volunteers and Youth, and Emergency Response for Refugees.
Caritas Jordan has a staff of 450 employees and nearly 3000 volunteers. The head office of the organisation’s presidency is in Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Caritas Jordan frequently collaborates with and receives support from members of the global Caritas network including: Caritas Germany, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Caritas Japan, CORDAID (Caritas Netherlands), Caritas Denmark and Caritas Canada.
During 2017 Caritas Jordan celebrates its 50th anniversary: a process of solidarity, love and giving; 50 years of building bridges, healing wounds and mending hearts; 50 years of a process that started in our tolerant country and is unlikely to finish.
Updates from Jordan
Jordan hosts 1.4 million Syrians, 500,000 Iraqis, and 500,000 Palestinians, in addition to 35,000 Yemeni. Caritas Jordan provides food, shelter, medical care, counselling, education and other aid. The numbers in need are overwhelming, but every refugee helped is a victory.
Four years of war have left Syria in ruins, millions of people have fled and the violence has spread across the region. Caritas is providing aid to 1.2 million people.
Snow and freezing temperatures in the Middle East have left millions of Syrians in even greater need without the means to protect themselves against the weather.
In a series of blogs, Vatican Radio’s Tracey McClure looks at the challenges facing Jordanian society and the toll that the Syrian war is exacting on some of the region’s most vulnerable.
Ninety-five percent of the Syrian refugees who have arrived in Jordan are Muslims, since they came from the south of Syria which is mainly poor and Muslim.
The Caritas office in Zarqa provided Chady's family with kitchen utensils and a cooker and also gives them food and clothes vouchers.
Earlier this year, Caritas Jordan received the approval of the Jordanian government to receive Iraqi Christian refugees fleeing persecution by Islamic extremists in Mosul and the Ninevah Plains.
In some parts of the world, war, violence, poverty and abuse mean that children aren’t safe in their homes. Many of them leave, either with their parents or alone, in hope of finding a place to live which is safer and where they can flourish.