From Sicily to Bethlehem, Franciscans helping the poorest

The collaboration continues between the nonprofit organization frate Gabriele Allegra (the NGO of the Sicilian Friars Minor) and the Franciscans of the Holy Land, through ATS pro Terra Sancta. The Allegra NGO has always been attentive to the needs of the poorest, particularly those in the Holy Land and in Bethlehem, a favorite place of St. Francis. Each year the Allegra NGO provides important support to a number of projects: the donations it has collected have allowed it in recent years to support and assist those most in need in Bethlehem, in a socio-eonomic reality where there is frequently a danger of losing all hope. A range of projects will be financed in 2014: 1- Assistance to children with disabilities in the Hogar Niño Dios, a home offering a family atmosphere to 25 disabled children who would otherwise be without assistance. 2- Aid to the Casa del Fanciullo, an institution created in 2007 and affiliated with Terra Sancta College, which has the aim of opening a new window of hope, obscured by the darkness of poverty and misery, for children who live a painful reality. 3- Support to Terra Sancta College, the oldest school in Bethlehem, with a contribution towards the maintenance of the facilities and scholarships for needy children. 4- Aid for the Elementary School of the Rosary Sisters, which welcomes and provides schooling for the poorest children in Bethlehem. 5- A direct contribution to the Franciscan Social Service Office in Bethlehem, which provides aid to Christian families struggling in a situation where social, psychological and welfare services do not exist. 6- The project Bethlehem is also for the elderly, promoted by ATS pro Terra Sancta, in support of the sisters of the Società Antoniana who take care of the elderly in Bethlehem, an extremely vulnerable group that is at risk of social exclusion. The contribution of the Allegra NGO will allow people using the services offered by these entities to have a more joyful Easter and, above all, to live in the hope of the Resurrection not only in prayer but also in their daily lives, in situations of great difficulty. We thank all our benefactors, praying that Providence will continue to act through them to restore hope to those who are on the verge of losing it.