Earthquake relief and winter aid for people in Lebanon and Syria
The DEICHMANN Foundation’s engagement in Lebanon and Syria
Overview
The project
Together with a partner in Lebanon, the DEICHMANN Foundation gives its ongoing support to individual missions sponsored by its partner.
Impact
Depending on the mission, impact will vary. In the case of simple disaster relief, ensuring the survival of people experiencing an acute crisis is of course paramount. Measuring impact, in the conventional sense, is therefore not possible. However, in other projects, where the resilience of those affected or opportunities for self-help or the learning of vocational skills are involved, then the partner has attained positive results. We try to document such results as far as possible.
Why support is needed
“With an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees and about 13,715 refugees of other nationalities, Lebanon remains the country with the highest number of refugees per capita globally. The impact of the country’s economic and financial crisis, as well as the outbreak of COVID-19, have led to an exponential increase in extreme poverty and safety risks for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.“
((United Nations Refugee Agency Report, Q4 2022)
Sizeable portions of the Lebanese population are also experiencing dire harship due to galloping inflation.
How the Foundation helps
Recent examples of projects supported
EARTHQUAKE RELIEF IN NORTHERN SYRIA IN WINTER 2023
The earthquake in Turkey and Syria happened in the middle of a frigid winter. In February 2023, in Syria, it exacerbated the severe economic and humanitarian Syrian crisis caused by the devastating civil war that has been ongoing for almost twelve years. Although authorities coordinated aid measures at the local level, they lacked the resources to offer much needed additional support due to the war and the economic crisis. This means they rely on non-governmental organizations and the United Nations.
In its first response action, the Foundation’s partner met the urgent need for food, hygiene items and clothing for an estimated 4,200 households. As a second step, it supports 1,000 families with food and hygiene items for around a year.
HELPING PEOPLE SURVIVE THE WINTER IN LEBANON
Between November 2021 and March 2022, the partner supported 5,914 families helping them survive winter. 5,914 families, which meant 25,469 people, of which around 13,000 were under the age of 18. 19 partners from churches and non-governmental organisations in the governorates of Akkar, Beirut, Bekaa and Mount Lebanon in the North provided help. Aid workers distributed blankets, mattresses, tarpaulins, jackets, scarves, hats, carpets, emergency lighting and heating oil or money for heating oil to Syrian refugees and Lebanese and foreign domestic workers.
The partner’s cooperation with the United Nations Refugee Agency ensures coordinated support. In other words, people are not given relief goods or money on multiple occasions by various partners.
The impact of our support
Additional strengthening of the local economy
Voices from the region
Support is gratefully received
The Church has provided me with food, blankets, shoes, clothes, jackets, and toys for my children. We were given an orthopaedic mattress for my daughter and medicines and MERATH covered the cost of all medical examinations. The organisation is a constant support for us, especially in winter when we are unable to earn money from farming.
The aid workers support us wherever they can, and they treat my children as if they were their own.
The food parcel covers our needs. This gives us a sense of security. I feel stronger and happy, especially with the way people treat my daughter. I appreciate the psychological support they provide her. She talks about the organisation with everyone she meets and that it does everything it can for her”.
Thamina,
30 years old, from Homs in Syria, married with three children. One was seriously injured by a grenade shortly after the outbreak of the war and still needs treatment
Wafaa
(left) fled Syria with her family in 2012. She lives with her husband, six children, sister, brother-in-law and their son in an unfinished building consisting of a room. Although it has brick walls, it is damp and smells musty. In winter, water seeps into the building.
When the organisation has nappies, they’ll give me some. It also gives us food vouchers, blankets, mattresses and fuel for heating. We only got to know about the Church when we learned they were helping people like us.
When I first went there, I felt like I was in a strange place.
But when we got to know the people at the Church and spent time with them, we soon felt very much at home. People don’t talk behind your back and don’t speak ill of you. Some people from our community were not happy with the fact that we got to know about the Church. They told us a pack of lies about the people there and tried to scare us off. I told them that I wish we were all like Christians and had the mercy, love, and honesty they carry in their hearts”.
A partner to work with
Well networked throughout the region
The MERATH organisation, based near Beirut, states its mission in its name: It aims to revive the Middle East and enable it to thrive (Middle East Revive and Thrive). To achieve this goal, it works with local churches and other organisations. With its services and aid, it reaches families in need in Lebanon as well as in Syria and Iraq. The families receive assistance in the areas of basic services, education and child protection, livelihood security and rebuilding.
Contact
DEICHMANN foundation
Deichmannweg 9
Germany 45359 Essen
Phone: +49 201 8676-15222
e-mail: stiftung@deichmann.com
Account for donations
Deutsche Bank EssenIBAN DE68 3607 0050 0301 1590 01
BIC: DEUTDEDEXXX
Responsibility
Through our work, we continuously contribute to achieving the sustainability goals of the globally coordinated 2030 Agenda.
