My paper will deal with the response of American missionaries to refugee children in and around the city Beirut during and shortly after WWI. In addition, I will discuss the problematic of children refugees as historical actors. The American missionaries under the umbrella of the Red Cross and later the Near East Relief took up the care of children refugees of Armenian, but also of Syrian backgrounds. The selection process and the education process of the orphans, I argue is geared toward making 'useful' citizens. The concept of usefulness is derived from a distinct Protestant perception of the world and is necessary to obtain salvation in front of the lord. In the case of missionary education of orphans this idea of usefulness and by extension the fostering of self-respect are concepts imported from abroad and aim at creating a culture that fosters productivity. However, the form and implementation is adapted to what the missionaries understand to be the need of local society. In the course of the paper, I will define the concept of usefulness as it varies according to gender and in this case is particular to the creating of a middle class. The missionaries argue that a 'lack' of a middle class and a literate peasantry was partially the cause for famine and starvation in the region. I will particular attention to the discourse employed by the missionaries that juxtaposes victim hood and salvation through productivity a discourse that mirrors contemporary neo-colonial rhetoric.