I meet with Isam at his home on 24th December 2022. Tony Saad (the Egyptian guy I met last time) was also present, and while I was there Isam's wife Nihad also returned home.
The main focus of our discussion was the work that has recently resumed, principally with the fresh influence of Iraqi refugees from Basra and the Kurdish region in the north. There are approximately 2,000 refugees but the focus is on helping 350 families through the Alliance church in Jabal Amman and another 150 through another church (I think this one is in Fuheis). The distribution to these families is similar to what BHW participated in some years ago with Syrian refugees in Amman and consists of: blankets, clothes, a hot meal once a month, and help with cooking items (lentils, chickpeas, rice, flour salt).
They have supplies that have come in stored in several containers, one of them near the Good Bookshop.
The secondary focus is on Yemeni refugees now in the country. Over the past 2-3 years, about 2,000 people have come. They live near the airport. They have no income and are not allowed to work. They are receiving clothes and food and are being linked with some churches. About 60 have become believers and some have been baptized.
The Centre at Fuheis, which I visited in 2018, was closed in 2019 because of Covid. Included in what we saw there was the Sewing & Embroidery training. Nihad continues to work with some Syrian women who were trained back then. They work from home and produce things which Nihad sells to give them some income.
The plan is to add corned beef, canned food, pasta, tomato paste, oil, milk for children, sugar, tea, and beans to the food items distributed to the Iraqi refugees.
They are also working on ways to hold classes to teach English and computing to the Yemeni refugees.
Several years ago, Manara’s focus shifted away from work with refugees and no further funding from BHW was needed. With the new initiatives by Manara in regard to the influx of Iraqi refugees, I believe they would be worthy of fresh consideration for financial support.
The outreach to Yemeni refugees seems fruitful in terms of very poor people with limited resources for living here being helped practically and touched by the Good News.
Lord willing, I intend to return here in 6 months or so and will be interested to see a bit more first-hand what is happening in these two points of focus for Manara, and us.