(L-R) Nour Alebaid, Oday Al Faraj, Samar Al Hbayo, Judy Mayhew, Bader Al Faraj, and Hesham Alhbiyou get food ready in St. Mark’s kitchen. (Submitted photo/Terry Roberts)

By Jordan Davidson

dire situation

‘Food, diapers, milk and clothing:’ Qualicum group raising money for Syrians orphaned by earthquake

Feb 22, 2023 | 4:17 PM

QUALICUM BEACH — Concerned residents are raising funds to directly support Syrian orphans in dire need.

A church and some local Syrian residents are banding together to raise money for an area hit hard by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Syria and Turkey earlier this month, which has caused incredible destruction and left thousands dead and destitute.

Terry Roberts, Chair of the Ali Al Faraj Refugee Sponsorship Group, said a member of their community and Syrian refugee Samar Al Hbayo, wanted to do something after she heard from family still living in Syria about at least 60 orphaned Syrian children living in camps who desperately needed aid.

“Samar and her family have some relatives in the camps now, and they were able to tell Samar of what was going on and about the distressing news of the 60 orphans. So she was able to rally the troops and we set up the event and we were very blessed by having such a sympathetic and generous community and folks in the Oceanside area.”

Al Hbayo and her family began cooking “mountains of Syrian treats” like baklava and date-filled cookies at St. Mark’s Anglican Church and headed out to the local farmers market on Veterans Way on Saturday, Feb. 18.

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“We sent somebody from our group out with a sandwich board and a couple of young Syrian girls and we handed out fliers to the folks at the farmers market and we also sent a… notice out to all of our congregation and to our sponsorship group.”

By the end of the day, they had managed to raise $5,000.

(L-R) Zeinab Al Faraj, Wilfrid Worland, and Fatima Alhbiyou ready to go to the farmer’s market in Qualicum Beach on Saturday, Feb. 18. (Submitted photo/Terry Roberts)

Roberts said they were able to send over money thanks to the relative of Al Hbayo who is currently in the camps, and are planning to send another $2,500 in donated money soon.

He said it’s very difficult to get humanitarian aid to Syria, but the refugee committee has a long-established lifeline to get funds to the people who need them.

“We got it set up so that one of Samar’s relatives is in the camp and we were able to get money to him and he will be able to go to where the orphans are and determine what they need and supply them with food, diapers, milk, and clothing.”

Roberts said they are just accepting monetary donations for now, as it’s the easiest form of aid they can provide at this time.

Cash donations can be brought to St. Mark’s Church office at 138 Hoylake Rd, Qualicum Beach, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. until Thursday Feb. 23.

However, Roberts said they’ll keep accepting donations as long as they are coming in, as those countries will still need plenty of help dealing with the aftermath of the massive quake.

“People will have the ability to drop things off with us directly or at the Anglican Church, St. Marks in Qualicum over the next week or two we hope. We have the information that we have another $500 coming in, but I think we might as well keep it going as long as it’s effective.”

As of Wednesday, they have raised over $7,200.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow