This paper explores the crucial part that faith-based organisations (FBOs) play in acting as intermediaries between international donors and local faith communities (LFCs) implementing humanitarian relief projects for Syrian refugees. Humanitarian responses to the mounting Syrian refugee crisis have coincided with greater collaboration between international donors and LFCs. This cooperation often is facilitated by a complex web of non-state intermediaries at the international, national, and local level. This study probes the breadth of roles of these intermediaries, drawing on primary data from case studies of two Christian intermediaries supporting Christian LFCs as they deliver aid primarily to Muslim Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. The results of the study are connected to the wider literature on LFCs in humanitarian response, revealing how intermediaries address issues of accountability, capacity-building, impartiality, neutrality, and professionalism. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for further research on intermediaries as key actors in the localisation of humanitarian assistance.

This case study of a network of evangelical churches in Lebanon * , based on data collected during an evaluation in 2014, presents a critique of common understandings about the humanitarian principle of impartiality, and questions assumptions about the compatibility between religious fervour and humanitarian values. Churches attempting to respect impartiality while implementing a food aid project for Syrian refugees have sought to mitigate potential problems through relationship-building and promotion of human dignity in order to ensure needsresponsiveness. Though many Lebanese Evangelical Christians do continue to engage in evangelistic activity, they benefit from strong community ties and demonstrate a high level of sensitivity to their beneficiaries' urgent needs as well as their sense of dignity.Keywords: Faith, Religion, Humanitarian Principles, Impartiality, Dignity, Evangelization, Proselytization, LebanonKathryn Kraft (k.kraft@uel.ac.uk) is Lecturer in International Development at the University of East London, where she teaches and researches on faith and humanitarianism, storytelling in conflict transformation, and NGO management. She has worked with numerous faith-based and other humanitarian agencies, advising local partners in the context of emergency and disaster response.Throughout much of the twentieth century, a dominant discourse of secularism crowded out voices of faith in humanitarian circles and in development studies. Nonetheless, as they have long done, people and institutions of faith continue to invest in education, healthcare, community-based empowerment, justice and other important types of service provision and social support. Third World Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 5, 2009, pp. 937-951. At other places, the phrase "faithmotivated" will be used to describe the broader category of entities who have a faith ethos but which may or may not identify with a religious categorization. 7The conceptualization of an organisation as faith-based or secular is, in itself, contentious, practitioners and theorists alike have expressed concern with regards to their ability to adhere to humanitarian principles, particularly that of impartiality.Impartiality is one of the most oft-cited humanitarian principles (other commonly-cited principles are Humanity, Neutrality and Independence). As stated by then director-general of the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Angelo Gnaedinger, in 2007, "Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence have become household names in the humanitarian community...Humanity and impartiality are principles that most, if not all, humanitarian actors adhere to." 8 Humanitarian principles have long guided the operations of the ICRC, but they have also been adopted or adapted by other humanitarian actors over the course of the past century. The principles, which may be described "as a rudder with which to steer a course through the murky waters of relief provision in complex emergencies", 9 among other things are intended to help minimise or, ideally, e...

Abstract:Capoeira4Refugees is an NGO that uses the Afro-Brazilian art-form of Capoeira to promote psychosocial well-being in children affected by conflict and occupation. Capoeira4Refugees introduced the Most Significant Change (MSC) methodology to monitor and evaluate project implementation and impact across two locations in the Middle East. Analysis of interviews conducted with five field staff revealed that in line with, and building on previous research, MSC became an empowering tool that led to staff development. The potential for MSC to build staff reflexivity, independence and leadership has implications for other organisations working in conflict areas, particularly in situations of remote management.

ImportanceAvailability of organs inadequately addresses the need of patients waiting for a transplant.ObjectiveTo estimate the true number of donor patients in the United States and identify inefficiencies in the donation process as a way to guide system improvement.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsA retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed of organ donation across 13 different hospitals in 2 donor service areas covered by 2 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in 2017 and 2018 to compare donor potential to actual donors. More than 2000 complete medical records for decedents were reviewed as a sample of nearly 9000 deaths. Data were analyzed from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2018.ExposureDeaths of causes consistent with donation according to medical record review, ventilated patient referrals, center acceptance practices, and actual deceased donors.Main Outcomes and MeasuresPotential donors by medical record review vs actual donors and OPO performance at specific hospitals.ResultsCompared with 242 actual donors, 931 potential donors were identified at these hospitals. This suggests a deceased donor potential of 3.85 times (95% CI, 4.23-5.32) the actual number of donors recovered. There was a surprisingly wide variability in conversion of potential donor patients into actual donors among the hospitals studied, from 0% to 51.0%. One OPO recovered 18.8% of the potential donors, whereas the second recovered 48.2%. The performance of the OPOs was moderately related to referrals of ventilated patients and not related to center acceptance practices.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cross-sectional study of hospitals served by 2 OPOs, wide variation was found in the performance of the OPOs, especially at individual hospitals. Addressing this opportunity could greatly increase the organ supply, affirming the importance of recent efforts from the federal government to increase OPO accountability and transparency.

Abstract:In the process of conversion, one of the greatest challenges faced by Arab Muslims who choose to follow a Christian faith, is determining how to relate to their birth communities, especially their immediate families. They continue to identify with their family and desire to function within its communal system and expectations, but also desire to be true to their new faith. For most converts in the Middle East, ceasing to adhere to the Islamic creed per se is not an act of apostasy, but declaring that one has left Islam and chosen another faith is, and is seen as an act of rebellion by the community. The process of self-disclosure, or "coming out", is complex, and many converts consider their decision about how to do this to be very important. There are various approaches converts may take, and various ways their families may respond, but one implicitly shared understanding between many converts and their families may be labelled "don't ask, don't tell", whereby converts speak openly about their changed beliefs without explicitly declaring they have converted, and their families respond in kind, deliberately not asking if they have converted, in order to maintain a strong relationships with their loved ones.