Fleeing their country from war and experiencing the hardships of being refugees were not the only crises affecting the Syrian refugees. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic left a heavy burden on the Syrians as well, who were already facing economic hardships that hit Lebanon.
Coinciding with Eid Al Fitr and for the sake of helping the Syrian refugees to decrease some of the burden caused by the emergency situation in the country, LOST, in cooperation with UNHCR and the local NGOs: Caritas, DAF, Ghirass, and SAWA for Aid and Development launched a humanitarian solidarity campaign over 193 villages of Baalbeck-Hermel targeting 9,905 Syrian families. LOST in particular targeted 82 villages and a total of 1,690 Syrian households.
“Together We Give Hope” was the title of the campaign that was launched on Wednesday, May 27th, 2020. The first phase of the campaign targeted Syrian refugees where they were invited to receive their share of food parcels and hygiene kits from LOST CDC’s of Bedneyel, Hermel, Nabi sheet, Qaa, Brital, Deir Al Ahmar, Bouday, Ein, Chaat, and Baalbeck. Syrian refugees were contacted through messages on their phones including exact date, time, and location of the distribution. The sites of distribution respected the full hygiene and safety measures as all the staff were wearing masks and gloves, and social distancing was taken into account as well. Also, their temperatures were taken upon arrival and sanitizers were available on each table.
The campaign’s objective is to help people in need whether Syrians or Lebanese to adjust to the difficult economic conditions prevailing in Lebanon. UNHCR also highlighted their presence on the distribution sites by a member of their staff “Myriam”, where she oversaw the whole process and took pictures of the sites and the COVID-19 precautions. The second phase of the campaign is going to target the Lebanese citizens in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs.
