A home of peace and beauty for Bethlehem

The war that began on October 8 had a severe impact on Pro Terra Sancta's activities in Bethlehem; within a few days the guesthouses that were breaking attendance records were emptied and all reservations were canceled.

Pilgrims disappeared from Bethlehem and with them the visitors to Dar Al Majus and the bazaar customers causing the association's local income to plummet. All cultural events were canceled for security reasons. A bewilderment evidenced by the video placed at the entrance of Dar Al-Majus showing a candle and a message of peace.

At Dar Al-Majus, once the war broke out, we began to monitor the situation to figure out how to cope with the emergency. Bethlehem lives off the pilgrimage industry, and because of the war an economic crisis is looming intervention scenarios include giving cash for work in exchange for volunteer days at Christian charity works or distributing vouchers to purchase food and basic necessities for the destitute who have been out of work.

Despite the war, the Social-Languages project has begun, which involves teaching Italian and Spanish language to 25 boys from the Franciscan Children's Home at Dar Al Majus. The boys are divided into two classes and classes are taught by four volunteers every Friday. Teaching has been complemented by psycho-social support activities with the help of a psychologist and a social worker. The children all eat lunch together at Dar Al-Majus.

The outbreak of war knocked the Dar Al-Majus bazaar, which was making a very good profit thanks the beginning of the beautiful tourist season, so it was decided to react by relaunching online sales.

Dar al-majus remains, even in the midst of the war, a focal point for local people.

Help us deal with the lack of work caused by the war!