Topic of the Week - Help Lebanon

As many of you are well aware, the explosion that occurred in Lebanon has caused a great deal of pain and suffering to people who desperately need our help at this moment. The explosion killed at least 137 people and injured around 4,000 others. The hospitals are already at full capacity as well as other critical facilities. Searching still continues to this day for more survivors with teams searching rubble from broken homes and buildings so the least we could do, if you are able, is help in that fight in any way possible and give support during such a terrible time. So instead of me rambling about something, here are a few places you can donate to help can support Lebanon.

The Lebanese Red Cross is the main provider of ambulance services in Lebanon, and said it would dispatch every ambulance from North Lebanon, Bekaa and South Lebanon to Beirut to treat the wounded and help in search-and-rescue operations. The British Red Cross has also set up an emergency fund. The United Nations’ World Food Program provides food to people displaced or made homeless after the blast. Lebanon imports nearly 85 percent of its food, and the port of Beirut, the epicenter of the explosion, played a central role in that supply chain. With the port now severely damaged, food prices are likely to be beyond the reach of many.

The nongovernmental organization Humanity and Inclusion has 100 workers in Lebanon, including physical therapists, psychologists and social workers. They are focusing on post-surgical therapy in Beirut following the explosion. You can make a single or monthly contribution, whichever works for you. International Medical Corps is deploying medical units and will provide mental health care to those affected in Lebanon. The humanitarian aid organization also provides health services to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and vulnerable Lebanese. Islamic Relief, which specializes in food aid and emergency response, is helping implementing a supply chain for emergency aid in Beirut.

In a study released in late July, Save the Children warned that over 900,000 people, including more than 550,000 children, did not have enough money to buy basic goods like food. With the situation likely to worsen after the explosion, they have launched a Lebanon’s children relief fund, to which you can donate towards. UNICEF, the United Nations agency specializing in aid to children, is providing medical and vaccine supplies in Beirut, and supplying drinking water to rescue workers at the Beirut port. Its on-the-ground team is also counseling children traumatized by the blast.

Impact Lebanon, a nonprofit organization, has set up a crowdfunding campaign to help organizations on the ground, and is helping to share information about people still missing after the explosion. The group had raised over $3 million as of Wednesday and donated the first $100,000 to the Lebanese Red Cross. The health care organization Project HOPE is bringing medical supplies and protective gear to Beirut and assisting the authorities on the ground.Over 300,000 people in Beirut were displaced from their homes by the explosion. Baytna Baytak, a charity that provided free housing to health care workers during the coronavirus pandemic, is now raising funds with Impact Lebanon to shelter those who have been displaced.

Please, help in whatever way you can no matter if its little or small because it still provides an impact. This has been the Topic of the Week, thanks for reading. Ricardo Signing Off