SYRIA: Blood drive for young woman is ray of hope
Syrians come together in blood drive to help young woman from Salesian oratory in Aleppo
(MissionNewswire) With 10 years of war, an ongoing pandemic, inflation and unemployment, Syria is faced with many challenges and difficulties, but Salesian missionaries recently saw a ray of hope when the community came together to support a young woman from the Salesian oratory in Aleppo.
Pamela is a fifth-year student attending the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Aleppo. Over the last two months, she had alarming medical challenges and underwent tests. Her health condition required a large supply of blood plasma—an average of 13 bags per session. This required a considerable number of donors to come forward.
News and phone calls for donations spread first in Aleppo and then throughout Syria. Through social networks and shared messages, there was an urgent call for Type O donors to help out. On March 21, the doors to the blood bank overflowed with people—old and young, men and women, Muslims and Christians all came together to help a young girl none of them had ever met. The blood bank remained open for every donor.
Father Pier Jabloyan, a Salesian from Aleppo, said, “People didn’t leave until the blood bank closed. We want to share this to show that there is always hope despite the brutality of the war and the heavy economic hardship that Syria is experiencing. Faced with a request for help, we found solidarity and closeness among Syrian citizens, and today we are witnessing a sincere love and an unparalleled response for Pamela.”
Salesian missionaries operate three centers in Kafroun and the particularly high conflict areas of Aleppo and Damascus. Throughout the ongoing war and struggles in the country, Salesian centers continue to meet the needs of their communities through the distribution of food, economic aid and scholarships to help young people continue with their schooling. Salesian missionaries are even launching new educational initiatives to help support poor and at-risk youth.
The population in Syria has shrunk from 21 million to 17 million as a result of many leaving the country as refugees and the more than a quarter million deaths from the war. Today, more than 13 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian support, including the more than 6 million internally displaced people—28 percent of whom are living in the capital city of Damascus. More than 3 million live in hard-to-reach areas.
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Sources:
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ANS – Syria – When love lights up in the form of a 0+
Salesian Missions – Syria
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