Fundraising

Important information

Benefit Gala in favor of our fundraising activities

Dear donors,

we very much appreciate any donation from you for the many fundraisers below. Of course you can also donate to our projects (e.g. Bethlehem University, Ukraine Aid or Angel of Cultures Project) or leave the use of your donation to us.

The tax office recognizes donations up to € 300 even without a donation receipt. In order to reduce our voluntary administrative work, we therefore only issue donation receipts for donations of €100 or more, as we receive around 500 donations per year! For this purpose, you must provide your full address in addition to the purpose of use.

Bank details: JugendInterKult e.V. – Volksbank Köln/Bonn – BIC: GENODED1BRS IBAN: DE09 3806 0186 0704 8870 19

With the help of the donations for our relief campaigns, many thousands of children and their families, as well as Christian institutions (monasteries, schools, etc. in Palestine, among others) in disadvantaged countries with great famines (especially in Africa) and refugees, who have fallen on hard times due to the Corona pandemic and the Ukraine war, could and can be helped through food and medical aid as well as care in all areas of life. Once again, we would like to thank all donors for their generous support of our numerous fundraising activities and projects! We hope that you will continue to support our work as generously as you have done in the past, as those affected are in urgent need of your donations.

Our fundraisers:

Click on one of the actions for more information.

• Refugee children Istanbul
• Youth Aid Bangalore
• Steyler Mission St. Augustin
• Hoffnungszeichen / Sign of Hope e.V.
• Open Doors Germany e.V.

Projects, institutions, refugee families supported by JIK – JIK funding until the end of 2021

Israel-Palestine

Tent of Nations (ToN) near Bethlehem – JIK funding: 210 T € (see also under Projects)

Daoud Nassar (Photo: DN)

Fundraising for reconstruction + maintenance of the ToN

For more than 10 years we have been visiting and supporting the 42 ha vineyard with international youth meeting place “Tent of Nations”(ToN) near Bethlehem of the Christian Palestinian Daoud Nassar. He and his family act according to the motto “We refuse to be enemies” and have been fighting for 31 years in the highest Israeli courts by peaceful means to preserve his land, although this land is documented to have been family property since 1916.

Since his land is surrounded by 5 Israeli settlements, if his land is expropriated, another Israeli settlement could be built and widely surrounded with another large wall that would separate Bethlehem from Jerusalem for Palestinians/ Palestinians.

Nevertheless, until 2020, many meetings, workshops and summer camps took place with young people and adults from 40 countries (more than 10,000 visitors in 2019).

However, since 2020 alone, his land and family have again been subjected to 28 attacks and destruction of many thousands of trees, but also numerous facilities, with property damage of about € 130,000. The repeatedly postponed court date for the re-registration of the ToN has now been set for May 2, 2022.

If a re-registration of the ToN with transfer of ownership to the Nassar family should then really take place, registration costs in the 6-digit range could arise, which JIK or the
supporter groups and sponsors would then have to raise. Therefore, further donations are urgently needed.

On 28.1.22 assassination attempt was even made by 15 masked men on brothers Daher and Daoud Nassar, injuring them so seriously that they had to be treated in hospital. Only the courageous intervention of the elderly Dutch volunteer Meta prevented worse. The perpetrators are known, but have not been arrested or convicted to date.

In February, an impressive event was held to mark the return of the two Nassar brothers to the ToN, attended by high-level representatives of local church leaders and other local and international supporters of the Tent of Nations project, as well as high-level and local political representatives from the neighboring town, Bethlehem, and the Palestinian Authority, among others. media presence participated. Here is the link to the very informative press report:

www.eappi-netzwerk.de/ein-lichtstreif-am-horizont/#more-3596

Image 2: Daoud Nassar thanks the guests for coming and their support. From left to right: Reverend Canon Don Binder (Chaplain to the Archbishop of the Anglicans), Bishop Ibrahim Azar (ELCJHL = Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land), behind him Rev. Joachim Lenz, Evangelical Lutheran Propst.Lutheran Provost of Jerusalem and as such representative of the EKD in the Holy Land, Bishop William Shomali of the Latin Patriarchate (Roman Catholic), Archbishop Atallah Hanna (Greek Orthodox Patriarchate), Munib Younan, the predecessor of predecessor of Ibrahim Azar, Daoud Nassar, next to him the Mayor of Bethlehem Anton Zaiman. ©WCC-EAPPI

Unfortunately, the court date of 2.5.22 has been postponed for the umpteenth time until probably August. Here is the corresponding message from Daoud Nassar dated 4/30-22:

“Dear Friends of Tent of Nations Nassar Farm, I am writing to inform you that the hearing scheduled for May 2 has been postponed and no new date has yet been set. We have been expecting this, although we had hoped that the hearing would take place and the process would go smoothly to end the 32 year struggle to protect the farm. We will keep you updated and let you know the new date as soon as we hear back. In the meantime, we continue to welcome international visitors and volunteers, farm the land, plant new trees of hope, and invite more people to join us on this long journey for justice. We ask you to share our story, raise awareness in your communities, and encourage more visitors and volunteers to visit and then return to tell the story of steadfastness and hope. We will also let you know what else you can do to help. Thank you for all your support and solidarity. And the journey continues with faith, love and hope.”

At a Zoom conference on 20.5. with Daoud and representatives of the many German support groups, it was decided to draw attention to the untenable situation on the ToN through nationwide actions until this date. Daoud reported that unfortunately there were again attacks on the ToN with further destruction. Nevertheless, the number of international visitors has increased greatly and will reach well over a thousand by the end of May this year, including 300 from Taizé. Thanks to the increase of volunteers on the ToN, many vines and trees were planted and reconstruction work continued. Daoud would like to start again from the summer with the previous summer camps for young people and the numerous work camps. Both Christian churches are considering making the ToN a Christian meeting place, especially for Germans, by holding regular church services in order to enhance its importance also for our federal government. We would like to encourage young people from Germany and abroad to work there as volunteers for a few weeks or longer and thus also show international presence – the best protection against further attacks on the ToN. JIK will also support these volunteers e.g. by covering the flight costs. We hope that Daoud Nassar will be able to come back to Germany in September and then also to us. This visit to Germany would certainly give a great boost to the many and growing circles of supporters.

Bethlehem Youth Services – JIK funding: 16 T €

With the support of the Bethe Foundation, 5.5 T € each were donated to the Salesians Don Bosco and to the Malteser Hospital in Bethlehem. The situation in Palestine, but also in Bethlehem, is still dramatic as a result of the Corona pandemic and the fact that tourism is only now beginning again. There is still very little work to be done. That’s why help is more necessary than ever.

More info at www.malteser-krankenhaus-bethlehem.de

Even as a child, Hiyam Marzouqa knew she wanted to be a pediatrician. She graduated from the German-speaking school in Bethlehem with top grades and received a scholarship to study medicine in Würzburg. At the age of 19, she flew to Germany for her studies.

The first time away from the family

It was her first ever trip abroad. “Calls home were expensive,” she recalls; email didn’t exist yet, and mail to Bethlehem often took weeks. Almost daily she wrote letters to her parents and reported in detail about her everyday life in Germany. Only of her homesickness she wrote nothing. To this day, the connection to her now elderly parents and her six siblings is very close. “The extended family is my home, my root. I can’t and don’t want to be without it,” she explains. Her own two sons are now grown up and live abroad. Like so many young people, they hardly see any prospects for life in the region anymore. ‘As a mother, it makes me sad. But I also know that times and political realities have changed.’

Completely different clinical pictures

Exactly 30 years ago, in 1989, Hiyam Marzouqa graduated from university and – back in Bethlehem – completed an internship at the Caritas Baby Hospital. Soon she became a resident and quickly realized that although her training had prepared her optimally for everyday medical life in Germany, completely new challenges presented themselves in the West Bank. There were clinical pictures there that she had previously only seen in textbooks: genetically caused deformities, severe hypothermia or life-threatening malnutrition.

Initially, the clinic worked without a ventilator

The equipment at the Caritas Baby Hospital at that time was also not comparable to that at European hospitals. “We didn’t even have a ventilator at that time,” Hiyam Marzouqa recalls. When the pediatrician looks back on this time, she realizes how much medical care has developed in Palestine in general and at the Caritas Baby Hospital in particular. Meanwhile, her hospital is one of the top choices in the country when it comes to pediatric medicine. The 57-year-old is proud of that.

Personal power source

However, good training and modern equipment alone are not enough in medicine. Hiyam Marzouqa is convinced of that. For her, faith plays an important role. Almost every day, before work, she goes to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and lights candles. Jokingly, she calls this ‘lightning psychotherapy.’ This ritual helps her ‘recommend God’ to children with a hopeless diagnosis. Prayer is her personal source of strength, the exchange in the team the professional one. “In our profession there are very beautiful experiences, but also difficult ones,” she knows from her decades of experience. Especially with chronically ill children, who are medically accompanied for almost their entire lives, you develop a special relationship. Even if you try to keep a professional distance. When a small patient dies despite the best professional care, it is very painful for the whole team. In order to continue in these depressing moments, it is important to focus on those children whose pain can be alleviated, on patients who have recovered thanks to the hospital. Shadow and light are close together in our daily lives’. In the most difficult moments, a child’s smile is the best motivation for Dr. Hiyam.” www.kinderhilfe-bethlehem.de We have also supported this exemplary and highly worthy institution, which, due to the lack of social insurance in Palestine, treats children of destitute parents for free.

Bethlehem University – JIK funding: 2 T €

“Bethlehem University is a Catholic coeducational institution and is open to students of all faiths. Its mission is to provide quality higher education to the people of Palestine and to serve them in their role as a center for the promotion, exchange and utilization of knowledge. The University emphasizes excellence in academic programs and the development of students as engaged individuals ready to become leaders in society. The university, which we have attended regularly for over 10 years, promotes shared values, moral principles and commitment to the common good. About 3/4 of the more than 4,000 students are Muslim and female.

Due to the high unemployment and impoverishment of most Palestinian families, many students are no longer able to pay their tuition fees. Therefore, JIK tries to help by partially paying the tuition fees for individual students (as well as for the Schmidt School in Jerusalem and the Talitha Kumi School in Beit Jala).

More info at www.bethlehem.edu

Birgittine Convent in East Jerusalem – JIK grant: 21 T €

As a result of the lack of tourism, both Birgittine monasteries with guesthouse in East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where we have gladly and regularly stayed since 2009, have fallen into great financial difficulties. Among other things, the air conditioning and heating were defective. Therefore, we have donated 20 T €, with the help of which both could be repaired and the monastery can continue to exist. However, in order to save the monasteries permanently, further donations are needed, as well as a normalization of tourism in the Holy Land.

Dormitio Abbey: Tabgha – Beit Noah – JIK Funding: 1 T €

Especially people who have received wounds from the failed togetherness and violent opposition of people come to us in Tabgha:

• Children and youth wounded in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who live with permanent physical disabilities.
• Children and young people with mental or physical disabilities, for whom there seems to be no place in Palestinian society.
• Children and young people from Israel and Palestine who, despite and because of their disabilities, have a salutary joy in life and who simply enjoy a few days of vacation by the Sea of Galilee in our garden with the pool.

Guest groups

Many of our guest groups have been coming to Tabgha for many years now and, like the seasons, they shape the face of the life of the meeting place. Only a few of these social institutions are mentioned here:

• Kfar Tikva , Village of Hope, is an Israeli institution for people with disabilities.
• Life Gate cares for children and young people with disabilities in Beit Jala near Bethlehem.
• Al-Shurooq School For Blind Children is also located in Bethlehem.
• Since the earliest days of Beit Noah, the Arab Society For Physically Handicapped from Jerusalem has been one of our regular guests.
• Groups also regularly come to Tabgha from the Shu’fat refugee camp (Jerusalem).
• HarDuf is an anthroposophically influenced kibbutz in the Galilee.

More info at | www.dormitio.net

EAPPI – Palestine + Israel – JIK funding: 1 T €

In June 2001, the churches in Jerusalem sent an urgent request for support to the ecumenical delegation visiting Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. This request was repeated in August 2001 during the international ecumenical consultation in Geneva. As a result, the executive committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) recommended in September 2001 that “an accompanying program be developed to provide for an international ecumenical presence,” drawing on and building on the experience of Christian peace teams. In the summer of 2002, the first group of “Ecumenical Accompaniers” began their work in the field. Volunteers from now more than 20 countries spend 3 months each in international teams in one of 7 locations. The program is coordinated by an international team in Geneva and Jerusalem.

Vision

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) supports local and international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and contribute to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a just peace. All activities are based on international law and relevant UN resolutions.

Mission

The mission of EAPPI is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their nonviolent actions and to make joint efforts to end the occupation. Program participants monitor the situation on the ground and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. They support actions of nonviolent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, provide protection through their nonviolent presence, advocate for political change, and generally practice solidarity with the churches and all who oppose the occupation.

Principles

EAPPI is based on the principles of international humanitarian law and internationally recognized human rights. One of the most important principles of EAPPI is impartiality. The EAPPI Code of Conduct affirms: “We do not take sides in this conflict and do not discriminate against anyone. However, we are not neutral when it comes to respect for human rights principles and the principles of international humanitarian law. We stand in solidarity with the poor, oppressed and marginalized. We want to support all parties in this conflict in a fair, unbiased way, in word and deed.” German organizations have continuously accompanied the emergence and development of EAPPI. Already in the first group of Ecumenical Accompaniers, who started their work in the summer of 2002, German volunteers were represented.

EAPPI in Germany

In Germany, a coordination group consisting of various organizations is responsible for the implementation of EAPPI. The official national coordination is in the hands of Evangelical Mission Worldwide.

Other organizations involved in the program in Germany include the following sending organizations: Berliner Missionswerk and Pax Christi

Other participating organizations: Bread for the World.

For more info, visit: www.eappi-netzwerk.de and www.maghtas.com (website that provides information specifically about the lives of Arab Christians in Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and the Diaspora).

Caritas International – JIK funding total: 25 T €

Afghanistan aid – JIK funding: 10 T €

“This mother had to leave the native village in Ghor province with her children. A massive drought in the summer had destroyed even the last of the family’s supplies.

As displaced persons in their own country and without a solid roof over their heads, the icy winter can quickly become life-threatening for the three. You need help urgently.

Photo: Petros Giannakouris/ AP (see below Caritas International website)

“Since the Taliban took power on August 15, 2021, the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate on a massive scale. 24 million people – more than half the population – are dependent on humanitarian aid. Caritas international is launching comprehensive winter relief efforts in the Daikundi highlands and Kunduz and Baghlan provinces. In addition to the ongoing conflict, long periods of drought in recent summers and the Corona pandemic are also responsible for the catastrophic situation in the country. Afghanistan is on the brink of economic collapse.” www.caritas-international.de/hilfeweltweit/asien/afghanistan/perspektiven-schaffen

Ukraine aid – JIK funding: 5 T €

“The whole world is looking in shock at the escalating war in Ukraine. There is war in Europe. Russia has been shelling targets across Ukraine since late February. Entire cities are already in ruins, countless civilians are the victims of this war. More than a thousand Caritas employees on the ground are providing survival aid, distributing relief supplies such as food and blankets, and offering psychological support to the traumatized people. ‘We are in constant exchange with our partners on the ground and are doing everything we can to support people in need in Ukraine,’ promises Oliver Müller, head of Caritas international.” www.caritas-international.de/hilfeweltweit/europa/ukraine/inlandsvertriebene

Africa aid – JIK promotion: 10 T €

As a result of the terrible Ukraine war, Ukraine and Russia are largely failing as the world’s granaries, leaving millions of people in Africa in particular at additional risk of starvation. Caritas International tries to alleviate suffering and hunger in many African countries with the help of donations. www.caritas-international.de/hilfeweltweit/afrika/afrika.aspx

Don Bosco / Rita Baus – JIK funding total: 20 T €

Street children Colombia – JIK sponsorship: 5 T €

Rita Baus (Photo: RB)

Rita Baus operated the Pantheon Theater in Bonn for many years as managing partner and artistic director. After that, she was responsible for entertainment at Studio Hamburg. She then took over as artistic director of the Admiralspalast in Berlin. She is the originator and project manager of the series “Quatsch keine Oper!” at the Bonn Opera, as well as of “Beethoven Moves! – an international project that she implemented with Colombian young people and the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn for the Don Bosco Mission Bonn in Medellín. “Beethoven Moves!” will be on view at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn until September 19, 2021, as will the parallel exhibition “Three Questions: Happiness,” curated by Judith Döker. In addition to her work as a cultural manager, she has been working as a systemic coach and teaching coach for many years.

With Beethoven’s music and urban street culture against violence and exclusion. Showing former child soldiers and young people from the slums of Medellìn new perspectives and giving their lives a turnaround: That is the core message of Beethoven Moves! The first stage: Medellín, once the most dangerous city in the world. Here at an altitude of about 1,500 meters is also the Ciudad Don Bosco. A facility that offers around 1,000 young people a home and, above all, new prospects in life. The musicians of the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn traveled there under the direction of General Music Director Dirk Kaftan. They had Beethoven’s famous 5th Symphony in their luggage and set off on an artistic journey together with 24 Colombian young people. The young people interpreted Beethoven’s music with their own urban expressions: Dance, rap and graffiti. An important role was also played by their experiences of violence and exclusion, but also of community, solidarity and happiness.

Children of refugees Istanbul – JIK funding: 10 T €

M.O.V.E! CULTURE WITHOUT BORDERS gives Turkish and refugee young people in Istanbul an audible voice. Their messages tell of their lives, their strengths, hopes and visions, and let them see opportunities that life offers them and that they want to tell about. This project is a voice of local and refugee young people in Istanbul, telling about their lives, strengths, hopes and visions in a stage show.

Youth Aid Bangalore – JIK funding: 5 T €

From Bangalore, the Salesians of Don Bosco implement numerous projects for the benefit of disadvantaged youth in the Indian states of Karnataka and Kerala. Coordinated in the BREADS institution, the order has implemented more than 600 development and youth aid projects in 28 years. Focal points include the abolition of child labor, the strengthening of children’s rights, especially those of street children and girls, and school and vocational training.

Don Bosco Sneba Bhavan Kochi is one of the street children centers. The help offered to children and young people who live and work on the streets ranges from 24-hour emergency services to an initial reception center to a rehabilitation center. Every day, between 200 and 300 children find shelter and medical care. Don Bosco strives for family reintegration, offers psychological care and also a place to be a child. In addition, the order works preventively in an approach of outreach social work in the slums.

More info at www.donboscomission.de

Steyler Mission St. Augustin – JIK funding: 8 T €

It sees itself as:

• Help for self-help, which should enable a permanent improvement of living conditions
• Promotion of international understanding and dialogue between religions
• Emergency aid for people affected by disasters, for refugees, the sick, orphans and other needy people
• Promoting the worldwide concerns of the Catholic Church and building bridges between local churches.
• Our mission is for all people, regardless of origin, culture, gender, religion or nation.

Our mission statement

• Our faith in the incarnation of God and his tangible love obligate us for man and creation
• In dialogue with all people, cultures and religions, we live out our responsibility before God for a human society and work for justice and peace in the world
• Our mission is a worldwide social and humanitarian commitment in the spirit of the Gospel.

1. ghana:

3-year-old Kobe can walk again thanks to his custom-made prostheses. The Orthopedic Training Center (OTC) in Ghana not only treats patients, but also trains them. For the production of shoes, orthopedic splints and prostheses the OTC needs about 8.000,- € per year.

2. Uganda:

In the refugee settlement Bidi Bidi, Father Romy Suri Roja SVD takes care of refugee youth from South Sudan. He oversees a scholarship program to help young people complete their education. 1025,- € will finance a four-year scholarship for a young refugee from South Sudan.

3rd Democratic Republic of the Congo:

The Steyl aid organization ORPER cares for street children in Kinshasa who have been cast out by their families as so-called “witch children”. With 8.600,- € the costs for the annual vacation camp outside of Kinshasa of the three ORPER homes are financed.

4th India / Vikas Deepti:

Children who need medical care and, if necessary, surgery, are lovingly taken in by the Steyler organization and cared for by the staff. The program also takes into account therapies and school and/or vocational training. With 3.750,- € 75 children can receive physiotherapy for one year.

5th India / Janvikas Society:

In the big city of Indore, most people live by collecting garbage. To enable children and young people to attend school, social workers are active in the 600 slums to address issues such as health, hygiene, equality and, above all, education, which is important for a self-determined life. An annual salary of a social worker in Janvikas Soviety can be financed with 4.320,- €.

6. Indonesia:

Steyler young missionaries want to follow their vocation worldwide. The young aspirants have to complete various stages here. The cost of a seven-year theology degree is €4,900. This is a hurdle that many young men cannot afford in their countries of origin, thus also complicating their vocation path for pastoral and charitable missions.

7. philippines:

Stella lives with her family in San Pio Village on Cebu Island. Previously, they lived at the dump and earned a little money there. Diseases were on the agenda. The Community Building Program gives poorest families a chance to own their own home and thus a healthy basis for a decent life. A house in San Pio Village can be built with 5.500,- €!

8. Thailand:

At the Mother of Perpetual Help Aids Center, those affected receive education about contraception and communicable diseases, and 300 disadvantaged children are provided with school supplies, nutritional supplements and medications each year. With 3.000,- € the costs of two long-term patients are secured with medicine and food for one year.

9. bolivia:

At the FASSIV health center in Bolivia, children with mental and physical disabilities receive medical care and education. The costs for an operation amount on average to 1.500,- € to 3.500,- €.

10th Cuba:

In Cuba, a soup kitchen was built and equipped for the sick and elderly, who suffer primarily from malnutrition. During the pandemic coronavirus, the demand for food increased sharply. The annual cost of running the soup kitchen is € 1,920.

11 Paraguay:

The CEFA in Curuguaty is an agricultural school with the areas of organic farming, livestock or tree nursery. In order to stem the rising rural exodus, around 200 students from poor families with many children are taught at CEFA. Accommodation is provided in the boarding school, as some of the young people come from distant villages. 2,000 covers the annual costs of running the school for ten students.

12. Hungary:

The Roma live on the margins of society in Hungary. Young people lack future prospects and the risk of slipping into crime is high. Father Albert accompanies young people weekly, organizes youth meetings, offers spiritual retreats or even summer camps. The Steyler program takes cultural identity and traditions into account. With €6,000, 130 children and 30 young people can be cared for and accompanied for a year.”

More information can be found in the Steyler Mission project catalog www.steyler-mission.de

Hoffnungszeichen / Sign of Hope e.V. – JIK sponsorship: 1 T €

Hoffnungszeichen | Sign of Hope e.V. is a Christian motivated organization for human rights, humanitarian aid and development cooperation. Hoffnungszeichen is committed to helping oppressed and exploited people worldwide from its base in Constance. Against the backdrop of the Christian faith as a common value base and motivational foundation, Signs of Hope is guided by the fundamental values of humanity, charity and solidarity. Our leading verse is: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me! (Matthew 25:40)

The association was founded on 21.12.1983 as CSI-Deutschland e.V. in Bonn. Ten years later, the headquarters were moved to Singen (Hohentwiel). With the end of a cooperation with CSI-International, the general meeting gave the association its current name and a new appearance in 1999. In 2007, the Sign of Hope Foundation was established. In 2013, Hoffnungszeichen e.V. moved to Constance and occupied premises of the Hoffnungszeichen Foundation. The association advocates for people whose human rights are violated or threatened, provides humanitarian aid to those in need in the form of disaster and emergency aid, and is committed to sustainable development cooperation according to the principle of “helping people to help themselves”.

The regional focus of our operations is the African continent. Special emphasis is placed on central Osfafrika, especially Uganda, northern Kenya and Ethiopia, but also on today’s South Sudan , where Hoffnungszeichen has been active since 1994. Satisfying the basic human needs for food, drink, safety and especially health are central concerns of our work .

More info at www.hoffnungszeichen.de

Open Doors Deutschland e. V. – JIK sponsorship: 1 T €

As an interdenominational Christian relief organization, we have been working for persecuted Christians in more than 70 countries since 1955. Our projects include helping people to help themselves, training Christian leaders, trauma work, or providing Bibles and Christian literature. In Germany, we inform the public about the persecution of Christians with a broad public relations campaign and call for prayer and help for persecuted Christians.

The current situation of persecuted Christians

The intensity of persecution of Christians has also increased worldwide in the past year. Worldwide, more than 360 million Christians face intense persecution and discrimination because of their faith. In the 50 countries of the World Persecution Index, this is even true to a very high to extreme degree; 312 million of the 737 million Christians living there are affected. Here is a selection of developments and current focus areas relating to the situation of persecuted Christians: Every year, Open Doors publishes a ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution and discrimination because of their faith – the World Persecution Index. It is accompanied by a detailed report on how persecution and discrimination are expressed and have an impact in concrete terms. Open Doors is particularly concerned about the suffering men, women and children behind the numbers. That is why Open Doors presents the stories of individuals persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Every persecuted Christian should know at least one Christian by his side who prays and stands up for him. Since the founding of Open Doors in 1955 by Brother Andrew (Anne van der Bijl), this has been our vision and our calling. With our projects, we want to support and encourage Christians under pressure to live their Christianity despite persecution. We strengthen persecuted churches to proclaim the gospel even in a hostile environment. Our help is for Christian churches of all confessions.

More info at www.opendoors.de