Government matching means double that will help Syrians at home or elsewhere as refugees

The Catholic Register
OTTAWA (CCN)



There’s another $7.5 million going to help Syrians stuck inside the war-ravaged republic or living as refugees in surrounding countries, thanks to Catholic donors and Ottawa’s promise to match donations.

Three Catholic agencies with projects in Syria and throughout the Middle East raised nearly $3.75 million for Syria before the Feb. 29 deadline set by the federal government. Ottawa had set a cap of $100 million on matching funds for the Syria crisis.

The lion’s share of the Catholic contribution was raised by the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, Canada’s Caritas agency, with more than 10,000 members across the country. With the backing of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, CCODP raised $2.4 million.

“It is not easy to raise money for a crisis like this one which has been going on for more than five years,” said Guy Des Aulniers, CCODP’s humanitarian aid co-ordinator, in an e-mail. “But our donors always have the most poor and vulnerable close to their hearts.”

The Catholic Near East Welfare Association of Canada raised $925,000, while Aid to the Church In Need Canada came up with $440,000.

While the federal government matches funds raised by eligible agencies, the matching funds are not necessarily distributed back to the same agencies. CCODP, CNEWA and Aid to the Church in Need, however, will be able to apply for funding from the pooled matching funds for their projects. Global Affairs distributes the funds on the basis of the merit of proposals it receives.

The Syria Emergency Relief Fund deadline was extended by two months when it reached the Dec. 29 deadline, with just $12 million raised from all of Canada. At the time, aid and development agencies said intense interest in bringing in refugees had diverted attention from attempts to help the majority of refugees who remain in the Middle East.

“For five years, people have been giving for Syria, and now there’s donor fatigue, which is understandable,” said CNEWA Canada executive director Carl Hetu in January.

International funding for Syria grew to $1.3 billion in 2015, but the needs have grown even faster; to $3.2 billion this year.

So far this year Canada has contributed a total of $279.4 million (U.S.) in humanitarian funding.