Trócaire highlights the plight of Syria’s ‘lost generation’ this Christmas

by | 17 Nov, 2016 | News

Trócaire has launched its Christmas appeal by hanging 50 pairs of shoes from the railings of Dublin’s Merrion Square, each pair representing one thousand Syrian children feared dead.

The humanitarian agency is asking the Irish public to support its work with refugees and other vulnerable groups throughout the developing world this Christmas.

Last year, over €1m was donated to Trócaire’s Christmas appeal, allowing the organisation to provide life-changing support to communities in over twenty countries around the world. A further €1m was spent on the organisation’s ethical Christmas Gifts range, which allows people in Ireland to buy gifts – including goats, solar lamps and school lunches – for people in the developing world.

Among the shoes on display were those of a Syrian child refugee who wore them while she travelled over 2,000km before reaching a Trócaire-funded project in Serbia where she received humanitarian aid including new shoes for her continued journey.

Launching Trócaire’s Christmas appeal today, Executive Director Éamonn Meehan said, “Each of the 50 pairs of shoes represents one thousand children feared dead in Syria since the start of the war. The war in Syria has resulted in the greatest refugee crisis and displacement of people since World War II.

“Fifty thousand children are feared dead. Any Syrian child under the age of six knows nothing but war. This is a lost generation. These shoes represent the tragic and shameful abandonment of these innocent children to this war.

“By supporting Trócaire this Christmas, people in Ireland can give the gift of hope and solidarity to people experiencing conflict and extreme poverty in the developing world. Our Christmas appeal is vital for supporting our projects throughout the year, while our ethical Christmas Gifts range allows people in Ireland to buy real, practical gifts for some of the most vulnerable people in the world.”

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Trócaire, working in Serbia, Greece, Syria and Lebanon, is responding to the urgent needs of Syrian refugees by providing them with shelter, hot food, shoes, hygiene kits, baby supplies and health services.

Trócaire also works with displaced people in countries such as Myanmar, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Donations to the organisation’s Christmas appeal will fund development and humanitarian projects throughout the developing world.

To support Trócaire’s work this Christmas donate at trocaire.org/Christmas by calling 1850 408 408 or visit Trócaire’s centres in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.

This year’s ethical Christmas gifts range is now available to buy and include olive trees for Palestinian farmers (€5), chicks for families in Ethiopia (€7), solar lamps for families in the DRC (€15), school lunches for children in Somalia (€30), goats in Kenya (€50), beehives for Kenya (€65), care for mothers and their new born babies in Somalia (€85), water pumps and irrigation around the world (€100), land for a family home in Myanmar, Honduras and Guatemala (€150), a farming kit for families in the DRC (€200) and support for women’s small businesses around the world (€250).

The 2016 gifts can be bought online at trocaire.org/gifts, by calling 1850 408 408 or at Veritas stores and selected Easons stores. One4All Trócaire cards are also available in Post Offices countrywide. Priced from €15 to €100.

ENDS

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