Christmas Eve 2015 Wooddale took a special offering for Wooddale Global Partner Questscope:
538 people are impacted due to the generosity of Wooddalers.
One Family’s Story:
Reem and her six sisters live in Aqaba, a port city in the south of Jordan.
They have been out of school for nearly four years, ever since they fled their home in Syria. They live in a neighborhood where no young girl should walk around in the streets, so they spend most of their time cooped-up inside.
For a while Reem and her family were able to get by, but the little money they had ran out. You can feel the tight pressure in the room when her dad talks about his daughters. “Girls are especially vulnerable in this world and we’re not really managing – we’re no longer able to meet their needs.”
Aqaba is host to a growing and desperate population of refugee families. There are no jobs, no resources, and no safety net. Their suffering is mostly unseen and only a few people even know they exist.
There are only hard choices left for refugee families in Aqaba. Reem’s only choice would have been early marriage so her other sisters could survive.
That changed last month. Because of Wooddale’s early commitment to provide food, medicine, and other essential items to 100 of the most vulnerable refugee families in Aqaba we’ve been able to pull in other partners and officially launch a program to reach even more people.
For at least 150 families in Aqaba we will be providing integrated support in food, medicine, and alternative education for children who have been out of school for years.
You saw the invisible, listened to their stories, and are helping girls like Reem redefine their future. She and her sisters are now enrolled in our alternative education program. They have enough to eat. They have a chance to hope for a better future.
Rachel from Questscope said, “Thank you so much for putting forth your trust and resources from the beginning as we built this program from the ground up. We’re grateful to God for all He is doing in Aqaba as we put the last, first.”
For those who want to know more:
- Refugee work is spiritual work: it is necessary and essential. Jesus said, “When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I was sick and naked, you cared for me.” Wooddale Church and partner, Questscope, are overwhelmed by Wooddaler’s generosity and that God did exceedingly, abundantly more that we can ask or think. Thank God for providing for 538 people each day for one year. More on Questscope at: http://questscope.org/
- The work in Aqaba Jordan for Syrian refugees will be a beginning and continuation of restoration to being a whole person: body, soul and mind. A person who discovers faith, regardless of circumstances, in a loving God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Note: more Syrian Refugee stories can be found on earlier blog posts