Mission statement of the charitable foundation „Korbgemeinschaft – Hilfe für Syrien“
The Foundation “Korbgemeinschaft – Hilfe für Syrien” (focused on providing help to poor and suffering people in Syria) of the Archdiocese of Vienna was established on April 1, 2016 by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and renewed with updated statutes by a decree dated January 10, 2025.
Thanks to the formal establishment in April 2016, the Foundation is thus regarded as a legal entity when dealing with state institutions.
The Foundation pursues exclusively and directly charitable, benevolent, Christian-social purposes. It is not profit-oriented and merely seeks to cover its costs through the income obtained.
The headquarters of the Foundation “Korbgemeinschaft – Hilfe für Syrien” are located in Vienna/Austria.
Underlying motivation
The name “Korbgemeinschaft” (literally translated “basket community”) expresses the basic motivation of the Foundation. In the miracle of the loaves and fishes (Matthew 14:14-21), the disciples are instructed by Jesus to distribute bread to the hungry crowd. This command is still valid today. When we trust in God, the baskets will not become empty. What God gives is enough for everyone. We should feed the hungry, provide them with emergency aid, and, beyond that, help them to help themselves.
Values and Objectives
Our work is based on the Christian view of humanity.
Our main motto is “love of life.” Jesus Christ says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Love and life belong together.
We want to pave the way for peace and to bring hope for new life where there are despair, poverty and hardship, war and oppression. We want to achieve this by offering quick, concrete and direct help to people living in Syria.
Work method
As far as possible, Fr. Hanna Ghoneim visits Syria three to four times a year. Through this personal contact with the people and the teams of helpers on the ground, and by means of daily phone calls and exchanges via email and WhatsApp, we learn what is most urgently needed at any given time. This is how concrete projects are being developed.
Consultation and close cooperation with our teams of helpers in many locations in Syria under the overall leadership of a General Executive Coordinator, with local directors of schools, kindergartens, retirement homes, facilities for the disabled, priests, members of religious orders, etc. are important to us. When selecting business partners for larger projects, we also pay close attention to a charitable, Christian attitude of each individual.
Donations come from various national and international aid organizations, friends, and supporters of the Foundation. New donors are usually generated directly from the highly active circle of existing donors, as well as through regular written reports on the situation in Syria, which are also posted on the Foundation’s Website, through lectures, participation in information events in Austria and abroad, interviews in various media, etc. We strongly rely on personal recommendations and direct contact. Confidence and sustainability are among our priorities.
The donations collected for specific projects are distributed to the respective local charitable project partners under specific conditions and safeguarding policies. These include the protection of children, minors, and other vulnerable persons, the documentation of receipts and spendings, the collection of receipts and documentation photos for project reports, the systematic gathering of signatures from recipients, etc.
Applications to aid organizations, major donors, parishes, etc. are prepared and submitted by Korbgemeinschaft. Project reports are also prepared by Korbgemeinschaft after the receipts have been checked and recorded in detail.
When working together for people in need, when listening to each other, when being attentive and mindful of each other, God’s presence can be felt. Together, we want to bring God’s love to the people and we want to be instruments of peace.
Use of funds
Through direct contact with various Christian social welfare organizations (schools, kindergartens, old people’s homes, facilities for the disabled, parishes, etc.) in Syria, aid comes quickly to where it is most urgently needed.
These organizations are familiar with local conditions and work with a select network of local charitable helpers.
According to the Statute of the Foundation, the funds are focused on the following purposes:
- providing direct and speedy assistance to people living in Syria who are in need as a result of the war and of other disasters; in particular, support for people without income due to the loss of their earning capacity, widows, orphans, sick, physically and/or mentally disabled persons, traumatized, elderly and other persons in need;
- providing rental assistance for those in need, including to internally displaced persons;
- procurement of suitable clothing for the needy;
- assistance for the payment of energy costs;
- support for medical care and medication;
- mediation of financial support for various needs such as kindergarten fees, school fees, tuition fees, travel expenses, and other expenses;
- mediation of material support (collecting in-kind donations, organizing collective transports, etc.);
- supporting the creation of small and medium-sized enterprises in various sectors, e.g. craft businesses, agricultural enterprises, etc. through targeted training measures, microloans, provision of equipment/machinery, development projects and similar initiatives to help people help themselves.
The scope of support and the decision as to which projects we can launch depend on God’s grace and on the funds we receive for these purposes. We see ourselves as mediators in this still very difficult time in Syria. Despite the upheavals and uncertainties regarding the country’s future developments, a stable bridge reaching out to people in their great need should allow new life to flourish.