“We are in continuous crisis. When we think we get to the bottom, it sinks again and gets worse”. These are the sobering words of Gilbert Zouien, Executive Director of Caritas Lebanon.
With a local currency in free fall, fuel and other costs of living skyrocketing, a continuous influx of refugees adding to the already million in the country, the poverty rate effectively doubling and now the impacts of the war in Gaza seeing tens of thousands of displaced people from the south of the country, the people of Lebanon are in a constant state of suffering.
Caritas Lebanon tells us that the needs are huge, and they are just not being met. People who made up the middle class are facing reduced incomes, loss of employment, salaries paid to them in a worthless local currency while fees and bills are required to be paid in US dollars, meaning they cannot pay for basic essentials.
“People who donated to us years ago, now need our help and it is not easy for them to ask, but they have no other option,” said Mr Zouien.
Hot meals and fresh vegetables for distribution at a Caritas Lebanon centre in Beirut. Photo: Caritas Lebanon.
At its centres scattered across the country, Caritas Lebanon says it sees over 5,000 new people seeking support each week. Support comes in various ways – food parcels with staple items for a family for three months, rent assistance and cash support for household bills, schools and hospital fees.
Further support is provided in the form of hot meals and fresh fruit and vegetables provided at food distribution centres with around 50 per day provided at each centre. These centres also have marketplaces where people can purchase household essentials on a points system based on their needs evaluation.
As the health care system reels, people find themselves unable to pay for basic healthcare. Caritas Lebanon operates ten primary health care centres and eight mobile health clinics that provide both diagnosis and treatment services as well as the distribution of medicines. They also provide specialist support for people living with disabilities and the elderly. Over 25,000 people are supported each month.
With an unemployment rate of over 10 per cent and the country in the midst of a crippling recession, prospects for the youth of Lebanon are not promising. Caritas Lebanon runs three livelihoods programs for 18–30-year-olds, in Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, providing life skills and business training as well as job placement.
The program currently runs to a 70 per cent success rate for job placement and 30 per cent rate of students becoming self-employed. Business training is provided across agriculture, construction and digital marketing with arrangements with a range of employers where Caritas provides wage support for the first three months of employment.
The situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly difficult, for the Lebanese and for the millions of Syrian refugees in the country. Your support can ensure that programs like these continue, please give generously.
Staff at a Caritas Lebanon health care centre in Beirut. Photo: Caritas Lebanon.
