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"Adopt a Child" Program
 

Children Details  -  Yara's Poem
Latin Patriarchate School Web site Select "skip intro" at bottom of the page, A book appears, Select "Palestine" on the right hand book page, Schools page appears, Select "Zababdeh" in the right side "Visit our school in Select city, click Go button

These children and their families are active members of St. George Melkite Catholic Parish in Zababdeh. They attend weekly Divine Liturgy and Eastern Christian Formation (Sunday school). In addition, they attend parish social activities. These “Living Stones” love their church and they are the future of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

In Zababdeh, there are three schools: The Latin Patriarchate School for boys and girls, the government school for boys, and the government school for girls. Then, within Zababdeh, all boys attend The Latin Patriarchate School or the government school for boys and all girls attend The Latin Patriarchate School or the government school for girls. The Latin Patriarchate School provides a good Latin religious education and a good general education. The government schools have Islam religious education. Further, some the Melkite Catholic children attend a Catholic or Government school in another city.

Some of the parents of the Melkite children who attend The Latin Patriarchate School cannot afford to continue to pay for the school fees and supplies. For example, in January 2005, during the school day, five Melkite students were told to leave The Latin Patriarchate School because their school fees had not been paid. This action meant that the children must attend the appropriate Government School in Zababdeh or a school in another city. Therefore, Abouna Firas Boutros Khoury Diab arranged with the Latin Catholic priest for Abouna Firas to pay these children’s school fees. Then, these students were permitted to return to school. Another example is during September 2006, Abouna Firas borrowed $1,000 to pay the school fees and supplies of the Melkite Catholic Children who attended The Latin Patriarchate School.

Now, Abouna Firas Boutros Khoury Diab pays some or all of the school fees and supplies for a significant number of the Melkite children at The Latin Patriarchate School. Then, it is a continuous struggle to keep the Melkite children in The Latin Patriarchate School.

During the 2006 – 2007 School Year, the annual tuition / fee of the Latin Patriarchate School was about $802US plus a registration fee. The number of siblings attending the Latin Patriarchate School is considered when the family is told their total annual tuition / fee for all their children. Because of the bad financial situation in the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarchate School is charging the families about $500US dollars per student. That means the Latin Patriarchate has about a $300US loss on each student.

In Zababdeh, employment opportunities are very limited. The largest employer is the Latin Patriarchate School. Further, the Israeli businesses, which employed people at tasks, such as sewing clothes, have closed. Employment opportunities for most people, especially the unskilled people, are almost nonexistent. To obtain employment, some citizens have been forced to move to the large Palestinian cities.

Additionally, many people with jobs are not being paid or are being only partially paid. Employees of the Palestine National Authority have not been paid their entire monthly salary since February 2006. These employees include city officials, school staff, health professionals, police, and fire fighters, etc. It seems that the only employees, who are usually paid their full monthly salary, are the employees of the Christian churches.

Then, St. George Melkite Catholic Church has an ”Adopt a Child” program to help the many children of this parish who need support. Some possibilities for the types of support for these children are:

  • Prayers
  • Letters / E-mails
  • Telephone calls
  • Money donation to buy Clothing
  • Money donation to buy Food
  • Money donation to buy Medical care
  • Money donation to pay School fees
  • Money donation to buy School supplie

We encourage everyone to participate in this program. We especially encourage people with time to participate. In this program, everyone can be an active donor.

  • Everyone can pray.
  • Everyone with Internet access can send a letter to a child by e-mail via Abouna Firas Boutros Khoury Diab.

The donor decides: