Charbel and his struggle for peace in the heart of the conflict.

Lebanon

Escalating since October 2019, the political and economic crisis is driving Lebanon to the brink of bankruptcy. The tragic situation has been exacerbated by a gigantic explosion of chemicals stored in Beirut’s seaport in 2020. The middle class has virtually ceased to exist. Educated citizens are fleeing hyperinflation, unemployment which rises every month, power cuts and fuel shortages.

Overview:
  • Since the beginning of the crisis, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 98% of of its value (as of 2024)
  • Since October 2019, food prices have increased by over 1,000%
  • GDP has dropped by 70-75% compared to its pre-crisis value.
  • 80% of the Lebanese population (over 3 million people) live in poverty. Extreme poverty has affected 36% of Lebanese (1.38 million)
  • There is a shortage of specialist medications across the country, and the price of basic ones is beyond the reach of the average Lebanese
  • Prolonged power and fuel shortages (up to 22 hours a day) are paralysing the daily lives of the Lebanese
  • It is the country with the highest number of refugees per capita (1.5 million Syrian refugees and 11,645 refugees of other nationalities)
  • As a result of the bombings carried out by Israel, the number of internally displaced people reached over 1.2 million in October 2024
We provide medication, food and basic hygiene and sanitation products for

260

chronically ill and poor people
In 2024, we distributed essential goods, providing medical and food support to

over 350

persons that were internally displaced due to the Israeli bombings
We financed

1000

kits containing food, clothing, educational materials, and hygiene products for displaced children

11.10.2023

When Hamas entered Israel on Saturday morning, Charbel’s list of worries grew even longer. Charbel does not want war.

-“Everything has already collapsed in Lebanon. We don’t need a war to not know how to keep living.”

Hezbollah has shelled Israeli positions and announced an incursion into Israel. This is enough to drag the whole of Lebanon into a bloody conflict. Thousands of border residents are being drawn to Beirut. They are fleeing to the north of the country for fear of Israeli retaliation.

This is not Charbel’s war. Lebanese, Christian, ailing, an elderly man. He just needs peace and quiet. He would like to know if he will eat something tomorrow, if he will run out of the medicines he has to take every day. Lebanon is bankrupt. An entire middle class who, earning in Lebanese pounds, has been dragged below the poverty line overnight.

Charbel doesn’t go anywhere. Sometimes he walks around the house. He can’t remember the last time he was in a shop. He doesn’t even look in any because he knows he can’t afford anything. He eats what neighbours and friends donate. The house is not his, but the owner has agreed to let him and his sister live in it.

Dr Harouny has known Charbel for 20 years. He knows that there is no shortage of help for the patient, because without it the man simply cannot cope. The sick and the poor are the first victims of any war.

If with Dr Harouna we do not take care of the most vulnerable today, they may not live to see tomorrow. We encourage you to participate in the Save the Seniors project. Don’t “help”, don’t “support”, don’t “improve quality of life”. Save!!! Today, ailing elderly people in Lebanon need our rescue. If we do not reach out to them, they simply will not manage.