|
An appeal launched by BibleLands
in response to the summer’s Israel–Lebanon conflict
has reached the exceptional sum of £200,000, thanks to the
generosity of UK Christians.
During the
conflict, BibleLands’ Project Partners in Beirut and
the Bekaa Valley opened their doors to
refugees and the Charity sent emergency funding to help them
cope with the extra demands of feeding and housing these
displaced people. Now Lebanon is looking to the future, and
BibleLands is helping to support those whose homes were
damaged in the fighting.
“We are delighted with the
hugely generous response to this appeal,” said BibleLands’
Director, Nigel Edward-Few. “Not only has it enabled us to
meet the immediate needs of our projects in Lebanon, but also
to help the Lebanese people in the longer term as they seek to
rebuild their fragile economy.”
Part of the funds raised will
be used to rebuild bomb-damaged houses in the southern
Lebanese village of Qana, which was particularly badly hit by
air strikes at the end of July. Around 140 families suffered
some degree of damage to their homes, and BibleLands
will work with Habitat for Humanity Lebanon to assist those
among them who do not qualify for any government aid.
“The priority is to make homes
watertight against the rainy Lebanese winter,” continued Mr
Edward-Few. “In the small Lebanese communities such as Qana,
there is a strong tradition of ‘aouni’ – mutual help – and
together with Habitat for Humanity we will be building on this
tradition to help low-income families and elderly people get
their homes repaired.”
For further information on
BibleLands and its work in Lebanon, please visit
www.biblelands.org.uk
Media Enquiries:
Caroline Rance
Tel: 01494
897933
caroline.rance@biblelands.org.uk
Alison MacTier
Tel: 01494
897908
alison.mactier@biblelands.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS:
BibleLands
Founded by the Rev Cuthbert
Young in 1854 to support the work of American missionaries
serving a distressed and vulnerable Armenian population, BibleLands
is a non-denominational Christian charity that now works in
partnership with some 50 local Christian-led projects in the
lands of the Bible – primarily Israel and the Occupied
Territories, Egypt and Lebanon, in the fields of Education;
Social Care; Special Needs; Medical Care; Vocational and Adult
Training; Support and Care of Refugees.
Habitat for Humanity Lebanon
From its
inception in 2002, Habitat for Humanity Lebanon (HFHL) has
sheltered thousands of displaced Lebanese families in 40 mixed
communities in south Lebanon by providing the necessary
support through provision of material or financial assistance,
which enables families to reconstruct, repair, renovate or
complete their homes and make them decent, healthy and safe.
Support is given on the basis of need, with no sectarian
discrimination.
|