Thousands of children scarred by war find hope at summer camps

A Catholic charity is giving more than 30,000 children from war-torn nations a chance to heal and find respite at summer camps.

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is supporting 416 summer programmes reaching 38,861 children and young people.

More than 85 percent of those attending come from countries currently affected by conflict – including Syria, Lebanon and Ukraine.

More than half of all children attending the camps are from Syria – having seen more than a decade of instability, civil war and episodic persecution – with 17,855 children participating in 230 camps. 

They are followed by 7,465 children from Lebanon attending 61 camps, and 3,518 young people from Ukraine taking part in 74.

Father Fadi Azar, a Franciscan priest in Lattakia, Syria thanked ACN benefactors for their help supporting the children. 

He said: “Were it not for your help – which is so vital for our Christians – they would not be able to take part in these gatherings of prayer, meditation and joy. 

“Thanks to you, they are able to eat well and travel to the mountain location where we hold our camp. 
“The families look forward to this – they look forward to it every year with great joy. Without your financial support, it simply wouldn’t be possible. 
“I cannot find the words to thank you enough at this moment. We are praying for you, truly – our camps would not have taken place without your generosity. Thank you, ACN.”

Many of the camps are specifically aimed at children living with disabilities, and refugees which, as well as offering recreational activities, also offer pastoral care and healing for those who have grown up areas of conflict, poverty or in exile.

Alongside the camps, summer activities for children in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Togo and Venezuela provided places for a further 5,230 participants across nine initiatives.

Claude Semaan, coordinator of Faith and Light in Syria, a movement fostering spiritual growth among people with disabilities, said “the camp gives us tremendous energy for the year ahead. It is a space of hope, a space of real life.

“Syria has been going through more than a decade of instability, civil war and episodic persecution and the summer camps are 'an important oasis of tranquillity'." 

Ms Semaan added: “It is the kind of life that we are no longer able to live in our homes. We are losing what a normal life should be, but at the camp we are able to live it with complete freedom, with joy, and even through our pain, which we share together.”