For children from Syria, life has been filled with crisis and trauma due to violence. Four Nazarene schools and two after-school programs in the Middle East are helping almost 500 Syrian children gain stability and a quality education from caring teachers in a safe environment at a time when they need it most. Children who are living as refugees after their families fled violence are now safer but are most often living in poverty without the opportunity to attend school. Through scholarships to Nazarene schools, students living as refugees receive education and hope for the future.

Imagine having to flee from your country of birth because it is no longer safe to stay there. Millions of individuals, each with a story of loss, are on a desperate journey to seek safety and an opportunity to live with dignity. They are in need of food, clothes, and shelter. Children are in need of education. Adults are in need of work in order to provide for their families. In the midst of an ongoing refugee crisis, the Church of the Nazarene has been ministering to children, families, and individuals who are desperate to find safety, stability, and dignity.

When 1.4 million people were displaced by violence in eastern Ukraine, 450 people found themselves living at an abandoned medical retreat center just outside Odessa, Ukraine. Many of the children and adults living there have various physical and mental disabilities. With little to no job opportunities for displaced persons, the burden to provide for food and other necessities grows heavier and heavier. Without resources, families and individuals are stuck in poor living conditions without the ability to meet basic needs, let alone therapy and other accommodations for disabilities. In response, Nazarene churches in Ukraine have been meeting needs and ministering to the families there.