By Kevin Cross, Church of the Holy Trinity, Oxford
The Church of the Holy Trinity, Oxford and All Faith Parish, Tunis Mills have been supporting a remarkable ministry to the refugees from Syria. Aida Tressell is a local Syrian woman who felt called to help her people who have fled to Greece to escape the war in their homeland. On Sunday, April 30th, Aida Tressell met with a group of parishioners at The Church of the Holy Trinity to update us on her recent trips to Greece and future plans. She had some very good news to share. The donations from the churches have had a tremendous impact on the refugee center, Zaatar-Orange House , that Aida established in 2016. The funding helped enable this group to fully develop the refugee assistance program Aida and others have worked so hard to set up in Athens. Numerous refugees, families, and children who have been separated from their families back in Syria are being given hope, care and a future through this program. The really good news is that Zataar has recently been adopted and fully funded going forward by a British NGO. Without the support of Holy Trinity and All Faith parishes this may not have been achieved.
Not one to sit back and rest, Aida has moved on to form a new organization which is being set up as a Canadian based NGO. The Kitab World Classroom is providing the means, materials and mentorship to help refugee youth ages 16 – 21 achieve the language certification required by Greece. This will enable these young refugees to be eligible for employment. Additionally, they are being supported to pursue studies in their field of interest. This program will leverage online learning available from universities around the world, and college programs in Athens. Each student is matched with a mentor in their field. KITAB is an international non-profit organization dedicated to working with refugee teens and young adults residing in Greece. Our focus is on job readiness skills and continuing education, working with mentors from around the world.
In Aida’s words: “Blessed today to be able to give a presentation to some amazing people at Holy Trinity Church in Oxford MD. They have given me strength to keep doing my work and so great in their support of my past projects and my new one KITAB. A huge THANK YOU to Father Kevin Cross and his parish of angels who continue to care and make a difference in the world!” Aida will be making a similar presentation at All Faith Parish on June 11 Sunday service to thank them for their support.
Aida’s work has extended the mission of Christ to the disposed in the world and given them hope and a bright future. She is a modern-day saint. If you would like more information or are interested in supporting KITAB, please speak to Fr. Kevin Cross or Fr Patrick Collins.
Note: KITAB is the Arabic word for book.