In recent days, the Syrian Orthodox Cathedral Um al Zehnar of Homs has been the site of a special ceremony, Aid to the Church in Need reported on May 24, 2018. The owners of the 97 Christian homes in Homs that ACN helped to rebuild, have received a gift of a first brick stone with the words «Jesus is my rock.»
Homs is the third largest city in Syria after Damascus and Aleppo, and during the first years of conflict has long been the scene of clashes between rebels and loyalist forces. Many Christians have fled the city for security reasons or because their homes were destroyed. The owners of the 97 buildings that fell belong to different Christian denominations.
«Thanks for all you do for us,” said Aziz al Houri and his wife. “Our children are so excited to finally go home.»
«We lived terrible years,” said Christian Nizar Al Bitar, “but thanks to your support we have not lost hope. Christians remain in Syria!»
The 97 homes will be ready before the end of summer. Expectant mother Genan Abdalaha looks forward to her baby being born in her own home: «I cannot believe that we can finally return to our neighborhood!»
Meanwhile, the Papal Foundation, which has supported the reconstruction of more than 110 homes in Homs, donated 300,000 Euros for this project. «Unfortunately, the war in Syria is far from over,” said Director of ACS-Italy, Alessandro Monteduro. “But thanks to interventions like this we can help our Syrian brothers to return, albeit partially, to normality.»
