Lily (Programme Manager at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) - an Embrace partner based in Damascus, Syria) has worked in the development sector providing humanitarian aid for many years. She considers her work to be the greatest expression of her Christian faith.

Wael is Programme Manager at the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) - an Embrace partner based in Damascus, Syria. One project currently providing a great source of hope for Wael is the training programme for Community Health Peer Educators, funded by Embrace.

Sarah’s priority is to empower families in the West Bank to be able to access the essential nutrients, vitamins and protein they need for children to have a healthy start in life, developing strong bones and muscles and a robust immune system.

Mousa co-ordinates the team of therapists from Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre working at its satellite clinic at Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City. Mousa says, “All of us are brothers in humanity. When Embrace support us it says to me that, all over the world, your brothers see you.”

As the recent war engulfed much of southern Lebanon, Maya had to flee her home with her family and endured 10 terrifying days with no shelter except their car as airstrikes struck across the country. Still unable to return to her damaged home, the experience has left her struggling with a complex mix of emotions, but she’s found help thanks to one-to-one intervention sessions run by our partner Tahaddi.

Ali is smiling as he cuts another young man’s hair. He looks sharp in his streetwear as he confidently cuts and trims. Yet the journey Ali has been on to get to this point has been fraught and at times the idea of a future and a career have felt out of reach.

When airstrikes began to hit Lebanon, young Tarek and his mum, who was just days from giving birth to her second son, had to escape quickly from their home.

“When I left my house at 3am…I had to leave the most precious things I have, my livelihood and everything. In a moment I left everything I had and came here, hoping my family would be safe.” Amir is one of the tens of thousands of people in Lebanon who have been displaced by the recent conflict.

Badly injured in an Israeli airstrike moments after giving birth, Aisha was separated from her new baby. For months she feared he had been killed.