PARAMUS, N.J. — In fall 2015, the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA), as part of its Syria Relief efforts, established the Syria LifeLine program to help willing individuals and families who are victims of the war in Syria to resettle in Armenia. These families had little or no money. The AMAA provided them with all the financial and logistical assistance for ground transportation to Lebanon and subsequently a flight to the safety of the Homeland. To date, through AMAA’s Syria LifeLine, 113 Syrian Armenians have arrived at Zvartnotz Airport in Yerevan, where they were welcomed by AMAA-Armenia staff and social workers and escorted to temporary homes and shelters.
AMAA’s Syria Relief efforts are directed to four areas: aid to those who wish to stay in Syria and need assistance; in conjunction with Armenian Evangelical churches in the communities, aid to those who have found refuge outside the borders of Syria, such as Lebanon and Canada; help to those who are forced to leave Syria and willfully wish to relocate in the Homeland; and help to settle all those who have arrived in the Homeland
AMAA’s Relief Programs in Syria provide food, water, heating and other basic necessities; medical assistance; educational assistance and resettlement in Armenia.
AMAA’s Relief Programs in Armenia provide: temporary housing and rent subsidies; medical and dental assistance; provisions; infant formula; counseling; entrepreneurship training and job placement support.
To coordinate its relief efforts In Armenia, the AMAA cooperates with the Ministry of Diaspora, the Aleppo Compatriotic Union, the Center for Coordination of Syrian Armenians’ Issues, and the social services departments of the Administrative Districts of the City of Yerevan.
To date, the AMAA has provided more than $2 million for its Syria Relief efforts around the globe. Financial assistance is still needed to ensure our continuous efforts to reach out and help those who are still in Syria and those who are struggling daily to settle in Armenia and reestablish their lives.
