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NearEast Boys& Girls Map

A living map of the Near East, 4200 boys and girls at Alexandropol forming the map of Near East efforts in Palestine, Turkey, Armenia, and Greece. The map is formed on a hill.

Girls at Piraeus

Little Greek girls, refugees from Turkey, disembarking at Piraeus en route to the Near East Relief orphanage in the Old Palace in Athens

Priscilla Capps Hill

Priscilla Capps joined Near East Relief in Athens in 1923. In 1925 she was named overseas director of Near East Industries, which promoted refugee employment and cultural preservation. Priscilla married an American working in Greece. She operated the Near East Industries shop in Athens until 1940, when the growing threat of World War II forced the Hills to flee to France. Photo c. 1925.

You can read more about Mrs. Hill’s exciting career in Every Stitch a Story: Near East Industries.

Sponsorship Form: Heracles Savvas

Near East Relief sponsorship form for an orphan boy named Heracles Savvas. The form is not dated. Based on the information provided, it is from the mid- to late 1920s. This is the only form of its kind in the Near East Foundation archives. Sponsors received periodic reports on their child’s health and academic progress.

Portrait of Ioannou Polikhronios, Syra

Ioannou Polikhronios, a child at the Syra Orphanage in Greece. The original caption reads “The presence of the refugees makes it more difficult to get children adopted – harder also for graduated orphans to make a living.” This photograph also appeared in a Near East Relief publication entitled An Investment in Future Manhood and Womanhood.

Portrait of a small child in overalls

The original caption reads “54% of the orphans are still under 12 years old.  There is a large work yet to be done even if nothing in behalf of the destitute and orphan children in the refugee camps is undertaken.  Near East Relief needs the help of all lovers of children.”

Refugees on the docks at Salonika

The original caption reads “There are still nearly 500,000 refugees in Greece who need aid. Among them are at least 10,000 full orphans, besides many more absolutely destitute children.”

Young girl at sewing machine in Syra

Young girl working at a sewing machine in an orphanage workshop in Syra, Greece. The orphans sewed clothing and linens for the orphanage and for sale in the community. All profits went toward the orphanage. This photograph also appeared in a Near East Relief promotional booklet.

New Near East, January 1925: Children at Orphanage Gate

In this poignant New Near East cover, a boy in orphanage attire looks at children waiting for admission to the orphanage. Covers like this served as a reminder that Near East Relief’s work was ongoing, even ten years after the 1915 massacres.

Orphans and relief workers at Kazachi Post

Very young orphan children with two relief workers in front of a dormitory at Kazachi Post orphanage, Alexandropol (now Gyumri), Armenia. The building is marked “No. 9.” The marking is visible behind the head of the woman on the left.

Refugee girl in front of row of tents

Young refugee girl standing in front of a row of tents. The photograph is heavily damaged. A row of tents is visible to the left, extending into the background. The girl wears a head scarf and simple clothing. Additional people are visible in the background. Near East Relief supported tens of thousands of families living in refugee camps by providing supplemental food, employment, medical care, and clothing. The exact date and location are unknown, but this is most likely from the Caucausus region in the early- to mid-1920s.

Soldiers walking down a city street

Photograph of a city street with soldiers visible in the middle ground. The soldiers are wearing uniforms and carrying rifles. The image is damaged, and the date and location are unknown. It is possible that the soldiers are members of a Greek army battalion either entering or leaving the city of Smyrna.

Urban street scene

An urban street scene. The building to the right features a distinctive striped facade. Date and location unknown.

Near East Relief Working Boys Home in Cairo

Group portrait from the Near East Relief Working Boys Home in Cairo, Egypt. Many Near East Relief orphanage graduates moved to Egypt to begin their careers. Both Cairo and Alexandria had sizable Armenia populations. Since the graduates were only 16 years old, Near East Relief provided a social structure to help them to acclimate to life as young professionals. Working Boys (and Girls) Homes offered classes and activities, as well as an opportunity for young people to socialize in a supervised environment. Orphanage graduates were encouraged to marry one another and have children as soon as they were self-supporting.

This photograph is from the collection of Nicole Tavitian Pawelski. Her grandfather, Simpad Tavitian, is in the second row from the top, slightly to the left of the “W” in “Working.” Simpad was born near Sivas, Turkey. He and his younger brother were orphaned in 1915 as a result of the Genocide. The boys were taken in by a Near East Relief orphanage. They spent much of their childhood at an orphanage in Aleppo (most likely as a result of NER’s evacuation from Turkey in 1921 – 1923) and later moved to Cairo. Simpad learned tailoring and went on to study at the Sorbonne. He escaped Paris before the Nazi occupation and settled in Cairo, where he married and had a son.

H.C. Jaquith in Athens

Near East Relief worker H.C. Jaquith standing on a balcony overlooking the city of Athens. The ruins of the Acropolis are visible in the distance. H.C. Jaquith was active in Near East Relief for many years. He was decorated by the Greek and Turkish governments for his role in resettling refugees. Jaquith was also instrumental in orchestrating the population exchange between the two countries.

Near East Relief student nurses standing around an examining table

Near East Relief student nurses in white caps standing around an examining table. Near East Relief operated a nursing school in Alexandropol. The school moved to Yerevan (Erevan) in the late 1920s. Near East Relief’s training program produced the first academically trained nurses in the region and helped to professionalize nursing in the Caucasus region.

Mary Archer

Portrait of relief worker Mary Archer, who was married to fellow relief worker Laird Archer.

Barclay Acheson with children

Barclay Acheson with two relief workers and a group of young children sitting on steps. The building is marked “No. 24,” which helps to illustrate just how large the orphanage complex at Alexandropol was.

Barclay Acheson with child on lap

Barclay Acheson with a child on his lap. Based on the child’s age and clothing, he or she may be an orphan from the Birds’ Nest.

Girl hanging laundry

A young girl stands on a  chair to hang a freshly laundered dress on a clothesline. Additional children in white dresses are visible in the background.

Women and children in front of wall

Women refugees and their children lined up in front of a wall. More women are visible over the wall. A man is visible in the background at right.

Children in outdoor pottery workshop

Children and two men, one in uniform, in an outdoor pottery workshop, probably in the Jerusalem area where pottery was extremely popular with tourists.

Men in front of a train

Group of men standing in and on a train. Trains were essential in the distribution of supplies to landlocked relief centers.

Woman with baby and unknown relief worker

Large group of refugees, probably in Greece. A woman with a baby and a man in a pith helmet stand at the center of the group. A large house is visible in the background.

Barclay Acheson on a ship

Barclay Acheson made frequent trips to the Near East Relief orphanages and relief stations throughout Asia Minor.

Barclay Acheson in Jerusalem

Barclay Acheson in Jerusalem. Acheson conducted frequent tours of orphanages and relief stations in his role as Associate General Secretary, and later Director General of Overseas Operations.

Barclay Acheson with Babek and Lea

Barclay Acheson with orphans Babek and Lea. Acheson occupied many roles in his lengthy tenure with the organization. At the time of this photo, Acheson was most likely the Associate General Secretary of Near East Relief or the Director of Overseas Operations.

“Armenia Thanks America”

Postcard showing an orphanage band serenading passengers at the train station in Jerusalem. The boys hold banners reading “Bon Voyage” and “Armenia Thanks America”

Exterior of the Birds’ Nest

The Birds’ Nest was located in a former Druze palace in Sidon, Syria. Maria Jacobsen, a Danish missionary who joined Near East Relief through KMA, oversaw all operations. She was known to the children as “Mama.” Jacobsen later moved the Birds’ Nest to Jubeil, Syria (now Lebanon).

The Story of Little Zadi

A profile of Zadi and Mrs. Gannaway used by Near East Relief as part of a fundraising campaign.

Portrait of Aurora Mardiganian in America

Aurora’s adult life was marked by extreme isolation. Although she married and had a child, she became estranged from her family. Aurora Mardiganian died in Los Angeles in 1994 at the age of 93. Her remains were buried in an unmarked grave.

Girls of Ghazir Orphanage with handmade rugs

The girls of Ghazir Orphanage in Syria earned international attention for the elaborate Garden of Eden rug (left) that they wove in appreciation of America’s relief efforts. The rug was presented to President Coolidge in 1925.

Ghazir rug

Near East Relief board member John H. Finley (right) presents a rug made by the girls at Ghazir Orphanage to President Calvin Coolidge

Child with broken arm receiving care

This photo of a Greek doctor and nurse caring for an Armenian child appeared in a Near East Relief publication with the caption “Accidents would be more serious if medical skill were not immediately available.”

Pottery workshop

William A. Bilby’s original caption reads “There is a demand for potters, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, weavers and other tradesmen.  Near East Relief industrial shops are turning out sixteen-year-old tradesmen to meet this demand as fast as the orphans reached that age.”