Development - Forgotten Christian communities

East Jerusalem is home to around 3,000 Christian refugees from Africa, mostly families. Including 650 children and teenagers born in Israel. Their parents came to Israel from Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Sudan, and for the most part have a distinct legal status – a temporary visa that allows them a three-month stay and to work. Despite the parents being resident for decades, they must renew their visa every three months. Any mistakes in the paperwork being costly as renewal can be jeopardised as well as access to the health care, social support and the right to work which result when the renewal timing is missed. They constitute one of the largest Christian communities in Jerusalem. They are also one of the only Christian communities of the Holy Land with a growing population of children, with an average family household of 2 parents and 3-4 children.

The Jerusalem African Community Centre was established to support the quality of life and well-being of refugees, asylum seekers and stateless people from Africa living in East Jerusalem. JACC approached FHL in 2024 to ask us to help bridge the gap in their funding due to the war and removal of support from international aid agencies at a time when their support is needed more than ever due to an increased cost of living,  increased employer issues surrounding unpaid wages, and implications on family life, such as job-loss, illness or legal issues. 

The funding from FHL has enabled JACC to sustain and expand legal aid services, psychosocial support, humanitarian relief, and community-based programs to meet the urgent and heightened needs of a vulnerable Christian population in Jerusalem. 

This directly benefited over 1,700 members of the ≈3,000 strong African refugee community.

Lemlemu

"JACC for me, is my family. JACC is a meeting place with a community that lives among us."    

We will provide £35,000 in support to the Christian African community in Jerusalem. More if we receive additional funding.

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£50 could pay for a month of meals for elderly women like Margo

£100 could support a child like Jana to go to a special needs school each month

£200 could provide medication for 3 months for someone like Ebraheem’s mum

£500 would cover the monthly salary of people like Yamameh in long term unemployment and growing debt

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