Over 600 families affected by devastating earthquake gather in “Our Lady of Joy” Hall in Aleppo

ALEPPO, Feb.14, (ST)- In search of safety from the consequences of the devastating earthquake and cold weather, over 600 families from the devastated areas of Aleppo gather in the shelter center in ‘Our Lady of Joy” Hall within the Church of the Holy Trinity of the Armenian Catholics in Aleppo.

The head of the relief team at the center, Rafi Qazanjian, said that since the first moments of the earthquake, the church opened its doors to the affected people, and the place was turned into a shelter to house the largest number of those affected and to provide them with electric power, services, and food in cooperation with the Syrian Trust for Development and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and several volunteer teams.

He added: “With the efforts of the young volunteers, who are also among those affected, we were able to secure a safe atmosphere for families who came from the most affected and dangerous areas, and their number in the center ranges between 600 and 675 people… The presence of civil events and various associations helped in finding a regular mechanism to meet the needs of families.”

One of the affected people, Nadia Habash, declared: “It is hard to understand what happened amid the continued demolition of buildings, but when we came to this shelter and with the presence of dozens of families, we felt safe and we did not stay in the street……We receive everything we need here.”

For his part, the volunteer, Faykin Nasri, said: “We are in great affliction , but my family and I tried from the first day to overcome it by volunteering within the shelter….We feel that we are responsible day by day to serve our families and provide them with a helping hand and conducting psychological support campaigns for children and educating their families about dealing with their children to overcome the shock of the disaster.”

Basma Qaddour