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SIDON, LEBANON, December 27, 2021 — Baitulmaal, a Dallas-based international humanitarian relief agency, recently distributed winter aid to 385 Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese families residing in impoverished communities and refugee camps in Lebanon.
The families, mostly refugees, received food and winter essentials such as clothing, shoes, blankets and electric heaters. The aid was distributed to families living in tents and other non-permanent shelters in Arsal as well as Ein el Helwe in Sidon, which is considered to be Lebanon’s most heavily populated refugee camp.
According to Elizabeth Sohail, program manager at Baitulmaal, these families have been struggling with severe food insecurity and have been unable to meet basic needs. While many experienced hardship before the financial crisis struck the country nearly two years ago, these families have now been pushed under the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket, a tool used by the World Food Programme to measure the minimum amount a household requires to maintain existence and cover lifesaving needs.
“We needed to ensure that these families had enough food and warmth to make it through the winter,” Sohail said. “It gets very cold in Lebanon and with the country struggling as a whole, it’s crucial we address the needs of the most vulnerable. We are so grateful for our donors who have enabled us to do so.”
Political instability, an ongoing pandemic, a catastrophic explosion and an influx of refugees from countries like Syria have contributed to Lebanon’s strained financial situation. The World Bank recently declared that the country is “likely to rank in the top 10, possibly top three, most severe crisis episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century.” Approximately 1 in 4 people in Lebanon is a refugee, giving Lebanon the highest per capita refugee population in the world.
Baitulmaal was on the ground in Lebanon responding to the devastating port blast in 2020, and has sent $1.2 million in hard-to-find medications and another $1.1 million in medical equipment to Beirut hospitals. The charity also reconstructed homes and buildings, installed generators and wells, and provided food packages to alleviate hunger. If you would like to learn more about or contribute to Baitulmaal’s efforts in Lebanon, please visit their website at Baitulmaal.org
Baitulmaal is an international humanitarian aid organization that provides life-saving, life-sustaining and life-enriching aid to people in need around the world. With headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the charity has offices and representatives in: Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Nairobi, Kenya; Mogadishu, Somalia; Amman and Al Ramtha, Jordan; and Karachi, Pakistan.
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