International Orthodox Christian Charities Provides Humanitarian Aid in Lebanon
As conflict in Lebanon escalates, a humanitarian crisis has emerged as communities continue to flee their homes in search of safety. International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is there on the ground, doing its part to support those who have been displaced. This week, mattresses, hot meals, and emergency first-aid kits were distributed to temporary shelters in north Lebanon, Mount Lebanon, and Beirut.
Since 2001, IOCC has responded to humanitarian needs in Lebanon across sectors—from nutrition and education to water networks strengthening Lebanese communities and, in more recent years, also assisting refugees fleeing conflict in Syria while continuing to help Lebanese families struggling amid deepening socioeconomic crisis.
In Lebanon, IOCC boosts access to health services and helps local people connect and educate each other. Mother-child health is a top focus, including malnutrition screening for kids and health education for parents. In underserved areas, IOCC helps thousands of people access primary healthcare, including through mobile health units, and repaired clinics and hospitals after the 2020 Beirut explosion.
When children have enough to eat, they can concentrate on learning. IOCC’s school snack program offers healthful food to over 63,000 students 100+ public schools across Lebanon. The program also upgrades and operates school kitchens, training and employing students’ mothers as kitchen crew. During COVID-19, the program provided regular food to about 19,000 families in need whose children normally attended those schools.
IOCC has built communal water reservoirs and installed solar-powered systems to run water pumps, providing better access and water storage to both Lebanese and refugees communities in need. Hygiene-awareness campaigns connect communities to learn about family hygiene, mother-child health, household and food hygiene, COVID-19 prevention, and sanitation. These programs reached about 17,700 people in 2022 alone.
IOCC created an award-winning community kitchen program to serve both refugees and Lebanese families in need, training women from both communities to prepare food together in large quantities. The program delivered hundreds of hot meals by van weekly to families across northern Lebanon. After the 2020 Beirut explosion, an IOCC kitchen provided hot meals to nearly 6,000 people for up to six months.
Please pray for all those affected by this conflict and for IOCC’s staff in the field. If you would like to donate to IOCC’s International Emergency Response Fund, please visit iocc.org/Lebanon24.
Photo: IOCC.
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