Antiochian Women's Month

The month of March has been designated as Antiochian Women’s Month by His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP. During the month of March every year, women are encouraged to express the fullness of their ministry in the Church. Sponsored by the Antiochian Women, each local chapter is encouraged to hold activities during the month of March and to participate in the Liturgy by reading the Epistle, delivering the homily, and ministering to the parish, the archdiocese, and the community.

Especially during the month of March, women are encouraged to minister to the needs of the poor, infirm and aged, engage in local charitable and humanitarian works, and raise funds for the Project of the Antiochian Women.

The Organization's 2009 "Children with Special Needs" project will raise funds for children with physical disabilities, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Down Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Asperger’s Syndrome, hearing/speech impairment, learning disabilities, and other multiple handicaps and chronic diseases. This year's project money will benefit the Al Kafa’at Foundation in Beirut, Lebanon. The word “Al Kafa’at” literally means “Abilities” in Arabic. Their focus is on the “abilities” rather than the “disabilities” of these young people. Founded in 1957, this foundation established a primary school, a catering school for young girls, an academic school for children with disabilities and a leather factory, the proceeds of which were invested in making artificial limbs, braces, and orthopedic seating for the handicapped. The employees at the leather factory are all handicapped taxpayers, providing for the rehabilitation and education of children with special needs.