HOUSTON, Texas — In 2015, the Aleppo Compatriotic Charitable Organization (CCO) initiated and up to this day continues to implement the Save a Life program. The name of the program is self-explanatory — it indicates its vital role for the lives of Syrian Armenians. As a result of the catastrophic situation in Aleppo in 2015, a large group of members of the Syrian community settled in Armenia addressed the office of the Aleppo CCO. They requested help for their relatives left behind in Syria, who were facing financial and psychological hardship and were fighting for life. They suggested buying them each a one-way ticket to Armenia as a safe country.
Realizing the urgent need for such a program, the Aleppo CCO immediately initiated this life-saving program. In May 2015, the Aleppo CCO called upon Armenian benefactors in Armenia and the diaspora not to ignore the calls for help of those who found themselves in a difficult situation and support them within their abilities.
Responses to the call came from all over the world. It included the Parish Council of the St. Kevork Armenian Apostolic Church of Houston, Texas. Uniting people in the cause of providing humanitarian assistance, the Parish Council of the St. Kevork Armenian Apostolic Church of Houston, and in particular its chairman, Vreij Kolandjian, managed to secure tickets for 160 individuals, making it possible for them to leave the war zone for safety in Armenia.
Today, 130 Syrians who rediscovered the sense of safety and faith into a better future thanks to the goodwill of the Parish Council of the St. Kevork Armenian Apostolic Church of Houston, are slowly building their new lives in Armenia.
The Parish Council of the St. Kevork Armenian Apostolic Church stands by these families and contributes to their settlement in Armenia by also providing financial support. Another 30 individuals are getting ready to depart for Armenia these days.
The Executive Body of the Aleppo CCO expresses its deepest gratitude for the efforts of the Parish Council.
