£30,000 raised for Aleppo appeal

Over 13,000 Christians in the Middle East will benefit from money raised locally during the Aleppo appeal during Lent organised by the Catholic Church on the Rock.
The Bishop’s Appeal helped raise £30,000 which was yesterday presented to the director of National Director, Aid to the Church in Need), Neville Kyrke-Smith, in Gibraltar to receive the donation.
Bishop Carmel Zammit could not help the smile on his face as he signed the cheque handing over the monies to the charity. This had been his idea to help and care about the misfortunes of others. It was his first major project as Bishop of Gibraltar almost a year into his episcopate.
“This is about helping people re-build and build up their lives. People who are going back home even though their lives and homes have been destroyed. This money will be used to reconstruct their lives,” he said.
“I had no idea it would be such a large sum,” he admitted at a press conference in the Bishop’s Parlour on Friday.
“I thought that if we got £10,000 it would be successful. There is a lot to learn from this. These Christians are living their faith much more than we are because when you suffer for what you believe in our faith is strengthened.”
Hopeful that the church would continue to contribute to this charity he described the appeal and its success as a “bridge between Christians and not just Catholics”.
National Director of ANC (UK) Neville Kyrke-Smith gave a “big thanks” for the donation which would help Sister Annie Demerjian and her work in Aleppo.
This was about building homes and communities in the midst of devastation with people who still hold on to hope and their faith despite having lost everything in their lives.
“Their hope still exists and their faith encourages us to take our faith more seriously. This remarkable sum is fantastic and it will help many Christians in the Middle East.”
The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need has been helping suffering Christians in many parts of the world where Christians are being persecuted and attacked physically.