Enduring roots: replanting Christian Valley

While the devastating scale of the wildfires in the Valley of the Christians is well known, behind every scorched field is a deeply personal story. For 34-year-old Mehran Kanouzi, the fire didn't just burn land, it destroyed three generations of memory.

In less than an hour, the flames wiped out his family’s 52 olive trees, planted nearly 50 years ago by his grandfather. "My grandfather always said that an olive tree doesn't belong to the one who plants it," Mehran recalls. "It belongs to the children, the grandchildren, to the future."

Thanks to your support, families like Mehran’s are receiving young saplings and the technical assistance needed to restore their land. But what this community gave back in return shows the true spirit of this valley.

During a project meeting, an elderly farmer stood up with a promise: "When these trees bear fruit again, we will donate the oil of one tree every year to those who don't even have food to eat."

They didn't wait for the new trees to grow. Local families gathered whatever remaining bottles of olive oil they had in their homes and sent a rickety van full of oil to Pro Terra Sancta’s emergency soup kitchen in Aleppo.

As our kitchen director in Aleppo shared through tears: "These are gifts arriving from people who have lost almost everything, just to share the joy of starting over."

Today, Mehran walks through his field where 52 young, resilient saplings are now firmly planted in the freshly plowed soil."When my grandfather planted his trees, he was about my age," Mehran says with a smile. "We enjoyed the fruits of his hard work. The ones I am planting today will be enjoyed by my children."

Thank you for standing with Mehran and the farming families of Hab Nemra.