We are deeply touched by the genuine concern and sense of solidarity expressed in messages received from dear friends and partners from various parts of the world. We are grateful and encouraged!
Hope is a very rare commodity in my country today. The recent devastating explosion was like nothing that we have ever experienced before. It was also the last straw for many Lebanese.
Suha, a young lady who lost her aunt and was herself severely injured shared that, normally, she would be ready to suffer for a cause that she believes in. But not for this! Not for corruption or negligence. Shaking her bandaged head, she said: I give up!
Desmond Tutu defined hope as “being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Sadly, many Lebanese today have lost hope of a better life in Lebanon.
As LSESD and as the Church we cannot afford to lose that which we have: hope.
In fact, over the past few years and as we reached out – one crisis after the other together with our partner churches to stand by the vulnerable and the marginalized in our community, be they refugees or Lebanese, we’ve seen a renewed desire in them to hang in there knowing that they’re not alone; a desire that gave life to another that is keen to know more about the reason for our hope.
Today, we must stand by families like Suha’s whose lives have been brutally disrupted. Our relief and development arm, MERATH, is currently providing:
- Food Aid Support: hot meals that we deliver to our partner churches for distribution to thousands of people in the affected areas; also food packs to around families that will be given shelter at our Seminary’s guest house. These will be supplemental soon as things settle down a bit – by food vouchers.
- Basic needs: (hygiene items, mattresses, etc.) also through our partner churches
In parallel, and with 1300 students [KG-12] in mind, we are seeking to repair before September 2020 the material damages that two of our ministries sustained during the explosion, namely:
- The Beirut Baptist School that is expected to reopen in just a few weeks
- The GateWay Bookstore
Needless to say, we are inviting contributions towards both emergent needs: 1) humanitarian response; and/or 2) building repairs. To facilitate the process, we have set up a “HelpBeirut” campaign, as follows:
Thank you for following our updates! Should you need additional information please do let us know. In the meantime, we continue to rely on your prayer support.
Grace and peace,
Alia Abboud
Chief Development Officer – LSESD