The Revd Catriona Laing writes:

'Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to let you know that Mishleen and Marian have arrived safely in Belgium and are beginning to settle into their new lives in Leuven. They are the two sisters from Syria who our churches are supporting through the Humanitarian Corridors scheme and at St Martha & St Mary’s, we are incredibly grateful for the generous support of the Anglican chaplaincies in Belgium.

As you will all appreciate, being able to speak the language is one of the first steps to the integration process and Mishleen and Marian are very keen to start learning Dutch. They have already picked up a few words and are enthusiastic to learn more! In order to follow classes offered by the city or the university in Leuven, they need to be registered with Stad Leuven, which will take several more weeks. In the meantime, we would like to organise private lessons for them, just to help get them started on their Dutch.

To that end, we are seeking donations from churches across our deanery. If any of you, or your congregation members would like to make a donation specifically towards the cost of Dutch classes, we would be extremely grateful. Please mark Humanitarian Corridors Dutch Lessons in the description of your online payment. If you’d like more information about any of this, feel free to contact Catriona Laing, Chaplain of St Martha & St Mary’s.'

If you, your church or someone you know would like to contribute to this project, please transfer the donation to the ACBL asbl/vzw bank account:

Bank: BNP Paribas Fortis

IBAN: BE25 0018 8280 7382

BIC:GEBABEBB

* Please be sure to include the message: “Humanitarian Corridors support”