Educational Seminars Held in Cyprus for the Second Year
July 28, 2008
Twenty teachers from various parochial schools of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America are taking part in a summer educational seminar held at the University of Cyprus, in Nicosia from July 21 to August 5. The fifteen-day program, which is being offered for the second year by the University of Cyprus, is organized in cooperation with the Archdiocese Department of Greek Education and the Ministry of Education and Culture of Cyprus and is designed especially for teachers of the Archdiocese Greek-American schools.
The daily seminar lectures and workshops focus on proven methods of teaching history and Greek as a second language. Participating teachers also have the opportunity to visit historical and religious sites of Cyprus and meet some of the country’s leaders including Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus and President Demetris Christofias.
Contact: Stavros H. Papagermanos
Tel.: 212.570.3556 – Fax: 212.774.0237
IOCC Aids Iraqi Families in Conflict-Ridden Sadr CityJuly 25, 2008
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), the Baltimore-based humanitarian aid organization, announces a new grant that will provide food and emergency supplies to vulnerable families living in Sadr City, one of the poorest and most densely populated districts of Baghdad. The approximately $400,000 grant, awarded to IOCC by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), will assist approximately 2,400 vulnerable families in this predominantly Shiite area, the site of continuous heavy fighting between insurgents and multi-national forces.
The aim of IOCC’s latest program to assist Iraqis affected by the war is to provide families with high protein foods to reduce malnutrition rates as well as hygiene supplies for at least three months. One in four children under five years of age in Iraq is chronically malnourished.
The residents of Sadr City who will benefit from the distribution include low income families, single-headed households, orphans, the elderly, invalids, and internally displaced persons (IDPs).
“The effects of war and the general economic slowdown exacerbated by 12 years of economic sanctions have adversely affected Iraq’s food security,” says George Antoun, IOCC’s Regional Director. More than 60% of Iraqi families are entirely dependent on the government’s food ration program, however the Iraqi government has announced plans to end the program for some citizens this year.
IOCC has previously worked in Sadr City and will cooperate with local authorities in the distribution. IOCC’s most recent aid to Iraq included a distribution of food and hygiene supplies in early 2008 to 3,000 families living in Baghdad and Mosul.
IOCC, founded in 1992 as the official humanitarian aid agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), has implemented over $275 million in relief and development programs in 33 countries around the world. IOCC is a member of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International.
Media: Contact Amal Morcos at 410-243-9820 or (cell) 443-823-3489.
INTERNATIONAL ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHARITIES
110 West Road, Suite 360, Baltimore, Md. 21204
Tel: (410) 243-9820 — Fax: (410) 243-9824
Web: www.iocc.org — E-mail: news@iocc.org
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