Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land begins Christmas campaign for Bethlehem Christians
The Christmas campaign for Bethlehem Christians has officially begun. The Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land needs your help to assist the children and the poorest of the town where Jesus was born.
Goal for the Christmas Appeal for Bethlehem Christians 2014: $280,000 to help 350 Palestinian families and 2000 children of Bethlehem
Child Jesus was born in a grotto in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. Today that place is marked by a silver star located in the Church of the Nativity, and is visited by over 2 million people every year.
In addition to preserving the basilica and welcoming the huge number of pilgrims, the Franciscan friars devote themselves every day to the children and youth of Bethlehem. They are especially committed to the ones who face poverty and hardship.
What is needed to improve the situation of poverty of Bethlehem?
The people of Bethlehem, a Palestinian town, are enclosed by a wall that isolates them and exacerbates their difficult living conditions: in this context social unrest increases and the first to suffer are the children. For this reason the educational and social activities of the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land are absolutely essential: in well-organized schools children receive not only an education but also all the care they require.
Orphans and youngsters with disabilities are helped in special ways, as well as disadvantaged families and elderly people.
In the Palestinian Territories there is no form whatsoever of public medical care. Families have to rely entirely on their own resources to pay for medical care. Often they are notable to afford it – particularly in cases of chronic illnesses or urgent care.
For this reason the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land launches a campaign to help the most fragile living stones of Bethlehem. We do it at this point in the year because it is when the whole world looks to the Bethlehem and the grotto where the Child Jesus was born.
To achieve the objective of collecting $280,000, we rely on your help!
Some examples of how you can help:
| $15 | Weekly school transport for a child |
| $40 | Purchase of winter clothing for a child |
| $60 | Monthly milk requirements for a child |
| $100 | Monthly electricity and water expenses for a family |
| $125 | Monthly medical expenses for 3 chronically ill people |
| $750 | Installation of 2 water tanks (265 gallons each) for two poor families |
| $2,250 | Monthly support of the meals of poor and elderly people |
With your contribution you become part of the community that supports the Franciscans of the Holy Land. You offer practical help to the people of Bethlehem along with the hope of a better and more just tomorrow in the whole Land of God. Thank you for your donation – even the smallest contribution will make a difference.
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