As a child, Serop Ohanian watched his father and grandfather work as expert shoemakers in the Beirut neighborhood of Bourj Hammoud. As an adult, he returned to the region to work as the Regional Director of the Howard Karagheusian Foundation, providing healthcare, social assistance, vocational training, and more to refugee communities. In this episode, Serop speaks about growing up in a war-torn Lebanon, and how his mission to provide healthcare to vulnerable communities is thanks in part to a rediscovery of his Christian faith.

This episode, Embrace CEO Tim Livesey speaks to Sister Bridget Tighe, General Secretary of Caritas Jerusalem and a Franciscan Missionary sister. Sister Bridget has served almost 40 years in the Middle East, working with Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Jerusalem and Gaza. She now leads the Caritas Jerusalem medical centre in Gaza. In this episode, Sister Bridget reflects on her relationship with and love for this unique and beleaguered land.

In the second episode of Embrace the Middle East’s brand new podcast ‘My Middle East’, Embrace CEO Tim Livesey speaks to Sylvia Haddad, executive director of the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon. Sylvia came to Lebanon as a Palestinian refugee in 1948. Sylvia has dedicated her life to helping refugees in Lebanon. This episode, she tells us of her journey into humanitarian work and how her faith continues to inspire her.

In the pilot episode of Embrace the Middle East’s brand new podcast ‘My Middle East’, Embrace CEO Tim Livesey speaks to our very own Connie Musallam about her dual identity as a British Palestinian, and what ‘home’ means to her.