La Casa Futura
Updates

A Coptic refugee program in Italy

Boatloads of Copts have fled Egypt crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. Risking everything, young Copts have escaped for a better future outside of Islam. They are grateful for temporary housing in tent cities. But what happens next for those who can never go back to their homeland?

Voice of the Copts provides an answer to this serious problem. Our La Casa Futura project in Lazio Province outside of Rome, Italy is to provide housing and assistance for Coptic refugees to assimilate into a new country.  We offer help with visas, language, cultural understanding, and job internships. Our facility houses up to 100 students for a two-year program preparing for independence.

The La Casa Futura building was donated to Voice of the Copts and awaits inspection and updates. Italy’s Interior Ministry supports the mission with a promise of future operational funds.

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La Casa Futura is a VOTC project currently under development. This  is a vital program and will be a major assistance for those who are now homeless having fled from discrimination and violence in their homeland of Egypt.

La Casa Futura (House for the Future) is a VOTC initiative to help religious refugees fleeing from
Egypt to find a new home and renewed hope for their lives.

In the Fall of 2014, a standing committee (in formation) was created for developing a curriculum, recruiting staff, and creating a model for operations that coincides with the projects’ goals.

Future updates added to this report will include progress in these efforts.

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To establish in part the first funding needed to take possession of the donated building and begin architectural modifications,  Voice of the Copts has joined with Mobile Cause to raise funds through various campaigns throughout the Fall of 2017 and year 2018.

We will utilize peer-to-peer crowdfunding, Giving Tuesday, and a 2017 year-end annual appeal specified for La Casa Futura.

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The personal stories of Egyptian refugees – Series #1- 22  

Ayman came from the village of Abu Kourkas in Al Minya Province, Egypt. His village is among many Coptic neighborhoods under attack by terrorist invaders from inside and outside the town. Since childhood, Ayman has lived in fear for his life and for the lives of his parents and siblings.

Jihadists attacked his village and his home. Gangs threw Molotov cocktails to set buildings ablaze and swung steel bars to smash in homes. His neighbors were pulled out and dragged down the street.

Despite the dangers, Ayman’s family chose to remain in their home praying for safety but were finally forced to “migrate” from the village and hand over their generational homestead (personal property, house and farmland) to the violent invaders as an outcome of an Islamic arbitration panel.

Ayman’s family selected him for the journey to freedom. Only one family member could brave the unknown with hope to build a life outside of the system of Islamic terror.

Now, for the first time since his landing in the West, Ayman is really hopeful!

He has heard about a special program called La Casa Futura to house and prepare young Coptic refugees for a better life. He can be taught the language and given job training in order to move forward and embrace a new culture…but only if the La Casa Futura project becomes a reality.

Please help us rescue Ayman from the camp and prepare him to move forward. Click the donate button now and become a part of our work to help Ayman and others like him.

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The personal stories of Egyptian refugees – Series #2 – 22

The following narratives introduce individuals detained in refugee camps who are desperately in need of the La Casa Futura project currently underway at Voice of the Copts. Egyptian youths have been uprooted and displaced for various reasons related to religious persecution. Names have been changed to protect identities. Narratives are based on true accounts of actual events.

One Sunday morning, Amira sat with her mother and sisters on the women’s side of the church as usual. Always mindful of being a jihadi target, their individual fears subsided with corporate worship as usual when suddenly the bomb exploded. It was deafening.

The nightmare was unspeakable. She witnessed scattered limbs and spilled blood from the lifeless bodies of her friends and neighbors. She screamed and reached for her mother while searching for her sisters in the smoke and rubble.

Sometime after this horrible event, her sixteen year old sister, Aida, made the decision to leave her family to begin a new life in Europe. Aida’s hope is to live in peace, worship freely and have possibilities for her future. She knows that escaping a state that allows and fosters persecution of her people and undermines the futures of her friends who have so much promise is the right thing to do.

The only tangible help Aida will receive toward becoming a citizen of a new country is a project called La Casa Futura. Otherwise, she will be stalled in the confines of an immigration camp indefinitely.

The hopelessness of a refugee camp does not begin to fulfill her dreams. She cannot go back to Egypt. But Aida cannot go forward either unless she has a bit of help. Her only help is La Casa Futura.

We can make this a reality for her with your help….when you donate what you can it moves us one step closer to providing for Aida and others like her. Every bit counts to make this project available to current refugees.

The quickest way to help is to join others at GoFundMe.com at the link below. Thank you!

La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session provides language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial stage of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds for individual donations.

Any amount will be of help — $5, 10, 20, 50, 100 or more. Thank you! 

La Casa Futura project currently consists of one dormitory building providing help for up to 100 youths per session. Each session will provide language learning, job direction, and cultural understanding. LCF is in its initial stage of development as we seek financial backers and matching funds for individual donations.

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