CANON Andrew White was back in London to present the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East annual Peace Prize at the House of Lords, last month.

This year’s recipients were Rabbi Michael Melchior and Dr Sarah Ahmed.

The president of FRRME, whose family are based in Liphook, said: “Rabbi Melchior’s achievements in the world of reconciliation are significant.

“The Alexandria Process, of which I was a participant, is still considered a milestone in the Middle East peace process.

“Despite the recent violence in Israel and Palestine, Rabbi Melchior continues to work with all sides in the hope that interfaith dialogue will help bring about lasting peace in the Holy Land.”

Canon White also gave praise to Dr Sarah Ahmed.

“She is an extraordinary woman and has just been appointed as our Director of Operations in the Middle East, overseeing operations in both Iraq and Jordan,” he said. “Her commitment to help the most vulnerable, regardless of their ethnicity, gender or religion, embodies the very principles of reconciliation.

“According to a new UN report there are now 3.2 million internally displaced people in Iraq. It is a blessing that people like Dr Ahmed are prepared to work at the front line of this terrible humanitarian crisis.”

Canon White and Dr Ahmed also attended a meeting with MP’s in Parliament on Holocaust Day, at the end of January, discussing the persecution of Christians and Yazidess and others in Iraq and Syria, which he called a sad, hard but positive meeting.

Canon White – dubbed the Vicar of Baghdad before he was forced to leave his St George’s Church in the Iraq capital after the rise of ISIS two years ago, is planning to travel less during 2016, having changed countries 75 times in 2015 and on 30 occasions spending less than three days in one place.

He added: “This I would say I have had to do – because I have to work to raise funds to help the people and to search for peace.

“Our emergency appeal has so far raised £43,000.

“The vital work we are doing in Northern Iraq, Jordan, Israel and Palestine continues. We are providing thousands of refugees with emergency relief, food, shelter, winter clothes and medical care and we are now working across 17 camps in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, distributing vital relief.”

The vicar, raised in South east London, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis back in 1997, and relies on pioneering stem cell treatment, currently cares for some 500 Iraqi refugee families in Jordan, where he has opened a school.

For more information and to find out how to help visit www.frrme.org

CANON Andrew White, President of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, has welcomed a new member to the charity’s advisory board.

Andrew Stone, Baron of Blackheath, is a member of the House of Lords and has been involved in the Third Sector. His particular interest lies in conflict resolution.

Before being made a peer in 1999, Lord Stone was the Managing Director of Marks and Spencer.

Liphook’s renown chaplain also recently met up with his friend Sheikh Abdul Latif in Jordan, who is the President of the Sunni Endowment Organisation in Iraq, which has been instrumental in building relationships between Islamic and non-Islamic countries, as well as rapprochement between Islamic sects and creeds.

Canon White commented: “To build on FRRME’s internationally recognised reconciliation work, it is vital that we maintain good working relationships with important religious figures such as Sheikh Abdul Latif.”