» Our relief measures start with close dialogue with the local churches. «

In ‍2018, ‍regional ‍focal ‍points ‍for ‍our ‍aid ‍projects ‍were ‍placed ‍in ‍the ‍Middle ‍East ‍and ‍Africa. ‍In ‍all ‍our ‍project ‍work, ‍dialogue ‍with ‍the ‍local ‍Church ‍is ‍particularly ‍important ‍to ‍us ‍because ‍the ‍local ‍bishops ‍and ‍religious ‍know ‍best ‍where ‍the ‍need ‍is ‍greatest ‍and ‍which ‍relief ‍measures ‍must ‍be ‍taken.

We ‍consider ‍it ‍our ‍task ‍to ‍support ‍the ‍Church, ‍particularly ‍in ‍those ‍places ‍where ‍Christians ‍suffer ‍from ‍war, ‍oppression, ‍persecution ‍and ‍violence.

Unfortunately, ‍a ‍hotspot ‍in ‍2018 ‍was ‍once ‍again ‍the ‍Middle ‍East, ‍where ‍the ‍faithful ‍are ‍daily ‍exposed ‍to ‍the ‍arbitrariness ‍and ‍violence ‍of ‍the ‍Daesh ‍and ‍other ‍Islamist ‍groups ‍in ‍many ‍places. ‍Therefore, ‍aid ‍projects ‍for ‍Syria ‍and ‍Iraq ‍will ‍continue ‍to ‍be ‍high ‍on ‍our ‍agenda.

» ‍The ‍need ‍of ‍Christians ‍is ‍particularly ‍great ‍due ‍to ‍the ‍violence ‍of ‍fundamentalist ‍Islam ‍and ‍persistent ‍poverty. ‍«

Christians in many countries in Africa also suffer from the persecution and violence of radical Islamism. At the same time, Africa is the continent with the strongest growth in believers. Our funding for Africa takes these developments into account, as more than a quarter of our overall project budget went to the local churches of African countries in 2018.

In Asia, on the other hand, our priority is in regions such as Pakistan and the Philippines, where radical Islamism is also on the rise.

We are also active in India, where an increasingly radical Hinduism persecutes and oppresses the Christian minority with violence in many places.

China, Vietnam and Laos, which have suffered under communist power structures for decades, also remain on our list.