Syrie
Un pays ravagé qui se bat malgré les séquelles
Partir avec SOS Chrétiens d’Orient était un véritable rêve depuis deux ans et mon arrivée à Goris, au Sud-Est de l’Arménie, a été bien plus enrichissante que je ne le pensais.
Do you want to take concrete action for persecuted Christians in the Middle East? Join our teams of volunteers on mission and work daily for isolated, abandoned or marginalised families.
Give a new meaning to your commitment! Go to the field.
Volunteers do not choose their mission. The assignment of a country of mission is done according to the needs and the missions in progress.
As they are sent to sensitive areas of the world, all future volunteers are required to inform their families of their project.
A mission lasts a minimum of 45 days (except for seasonal missions).
Each volunteer pays for his or her own return airfare on mission.
In a Middle East plagued by geopolitical, economic and social crises, children are deprived, if not of education, of future prospects. A sacrificed generation and collateral damage of the wars of the powerful, some have to live with irreversible traumatic disorders and others with the definitive loss of a father or a mother. When their health is not in danger, poverty makes life impossible.
For these children, the volunteers organise summer camps, organise cultural, sports and leisure activities, provide tutoring and offer toys for the holidays.
Often isolated and abandoned, the elderly find themselves alone to face crises. In Lebanon and Syria, faced with the exorbitant price of basic necessities, they are forced to choose between health care, food and clothing. In Egypt, when some do not fall into depression because of their isolation, others lose their taste for life.
In order to support their elders, the volunteers regularly visit them in retirement homes or directly in their homes. With their smile, their joy of living and their active presence, they often quickly give them back hope.
For the poorest, they donate basic necessities to improve their daily lives.
In often apocalyptic settings, teams of volunteers are assigned to work on building sites to clear away rubble, chisel out walls and transport sandbags to facilitate the structural work, carried out by specialised local workers and engineers.
In optimal safety conditions, they work in schools, houses and churches destroyed by bombing or natural disasters.
In other cases, they renovate playgrounds by clearing brush from neglected areas, sanding and repainting metal play structures.
Displaced or refugees, discriminated against or persecuted, Oriental families live in precarious conditions and suffer the full force of socio-economic and health crises.
In some conflict areas, the needs are great. Between conflict and extreme poverty, families do not live, they survive! Volunteers are sent to listen to them, comfort them and assess their needs. Thus supported, they become aware that they are not alone and regain faith in the future. These daily visits strengthen their will to fight against what ails them and give the volunteers renewed energy.
In the crisis areas, the teams work tirelessly to actively help the victims in record time. Through donations of food and hygiene packs, they provide initial care for people fleeing violence or insecurity. In doing so, they try by all means to save a maximum number of lives and to alleviate the distress of the most destitute. Transporting foodstuffs to refugee camps, assisting populations threatened by natural disasters, donating water and food on a massive scale to civilians caught up in deadly conflicts... These are necessary and vital missions to help them live.
Islets among the desert expanses of the Middle East, the green areas and the agricultural expanses offer their owners the opportunity to live in self-sufficiency and to generate substantial income from the crops. But often, when they run out of petrol for their farm machinery, money to pay for skilled labour or manpower to work in the fields, farmers see the fruits of their labour rot. And when nature breaks loose and wipes out a lifetime's work in a matter of seconds, there is nothing to tie farmers to their land.
So volunteers are specially assigned to the greenhouses to help out. According to the cycle of the seasons, in collaboration with the farm workers, they participate in the harvesting of olives, aubergines, cucumbers, pomegranates or artichokes. Others are responsible for taking care of the farm animals or, more exceptionally, for harvesting the grapes in the local style.The volunteer must have a valid passport without an Israeli visa and a medical certificate.
No. You will be provided with food, accommodation and clothing for the duration of your mission.
Of course you can! However, we will ask you to live with the Christians of the East, so it is important to attend services and not to argue about your atheism or agnosticism.
There are no zero risks when you go on a mission. However, we have put in place security rules to deal with the various risks. If you respect them, there are normally no risks!
All volunteers live in the same flat and participate in activities together. We have a large shared flat with dormitories (not mixed) and common living areas.
Partir avec SOS Chrétiens d’Orient était un véritable rêve depuis deux ans et mon arrivée à Goris, au Sud-Est de l’Arménie, a été bien plus enrichissante que je ne le pensais.
J’ai repris mes esprits à l’hôpital Saint-Louis, le cuir chevelu plein d’éclats de verre, courbatu, sans force.
J’ai compris par ma mission qu’on ne donne à la vie sa vraie valeur, qu’en la mettant au service des autres, en travaillant en toute humilité mais aussi en toute générosité pour nos frères d’Orient, afin de maintenir l’espérance et de les soutenir au quotidien.
Head of volunteers