What We Do
Tens of thousands of Christian families with children are returning to their burned out and looted homes after escaping the attacks of radical Islamic groups in the Middle East.
Inside places like Iraq and Jordan, displaced Christians are ignored by the Islamic run charities. There are so many Christian refugee children that we cannot help all of them, but we can make one special day brighter for thousands of them by arranging a traditional Christmas day of fun and good food.
In 2013, Christmas events that included hot meals were served to Christian refugee children in Jordan and Lebanon. By 2018, the Christmas for Refugees program has expanded to provide Christmas parties in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, and the West Bank.
Christmas for Refugees is much more than one hot meal at Christmas. The many hours long program includes a warm place to stay for a day with Gospel themed plays and puppet shows along with games and traditional Christmas songs.
Gospel themed coloring books and work books are supplied to the children and in some cases Arabic language picture Bibles. Each child takes home a gift box for themselves and their family.
The gift box for each child’s family varies by area. In some areas, basic foods such as rice, beans, canned meats and cooking oils to last a week or more are given to each family. In other areas, the family gift is a box of essential items including toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand soap, tissues, sponges, feminine hygiene items as well as dish and laundry soaps
I was personally present at as many of the Christmas events in 2019 as possible, and I saw the joy on the faces of these refugee children as they were able to forget their dire circumstances for a few hours. In 2020 and 2021 the Christmas for Refugees program looked very different due to strict COVID-19 procedures. We hope to safely provide Christmas celebrations that will safeguard the children’s wellbeing while also presenting them with a fun-filled celebration centered around the birth of Jesus.
Please join as a partner in bringing hope to Christian children being deprived of what their childhood should be because of religious persecution by Islamic groups.
William J. Murray, Project Director
The below video gives a brief overview of one of our 2019 Christmas for Refugees events in Iraq.