Resource for churches welcoming Syrian families

Middle East Christian broadcaster SAT-7 has launched a special Arabic language DVD resource to support the growing numbers of UK Christian churches and individuals who are becoming involved in resettling Syrian refugee families in the UK

Sat 7 bedtime stories The Bedtime Stories DVD resource includes six 18-minute bedtime story videos and two 50-minute episodes of SAT-7’s ground-breaking My School Arabic language education programmes.

The Bedtime Stories episodes (for 2- to 8-year-olds) all promote positive values, such as confidence, trust, wonder, respect for self and others, and were selected from the latest series of a very popular and long-running programme.

The My School episodes (for 3- to 10-year-olds) include English, Maths, Arabic and Science segments and are a sampler of episodes that can be watched live or on-demand on the SAT-7 ACADEMY channel.

Produced in Lebanon with families displaced from Syria and Iraq especially in mind, My School is the channel’s flagship education show and already has a viewership of at least 1.3 million in the Arab world (2016 IPSOS research).

The DVD resource is designed as a pass-on gift for an Arabic-speaking family and comes with an English language booklet for the donor, that offers some background, advice, and suggestions for prayer for the refugee family.

Since 2015, churches and Christian individuals have been at the forefront of offering support to refugee families after the UK government announced plans to receive 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020. From July 2017, a growing number of churches have also become directly involved in arranging settlement for families as part of the “Full Community Sponsorship Scheme”.

Martin Thomas, SAT-7 Director of External Engagement, said, 'As Syrian families have come to the UK, the Church’s tradition of working together to offer welcome and care has continued.

'However, the long-term challenges to support re-settled refugees are significant. SAT-7’s Bedtime Stories DVD has been produced for Christians to give as a friendship gift to Arabic-speaking children and families. We pray that it will add value to the many ministries of friendship and support that are flourishing across the UK.'

Tania Bright, Executive Director of Church Response for Refugees, said, 'We will be encouraging churches that are welcoming Syrian refugee families through Community Sponsorship to present SAT-7's Bedtime Stories to their families as a friendly gift.

'Most families arrive in the UK with young children who may have been traumatised by experiences of war and persecution. We believe SAT-7's latest DVD resource will help educate them, especially in English, enabling them to settle successfully into a new country and culture.'