FFWPU UK: A Report From Lebanon On Humanitarian Activities

Thanks to the dedication of our members in Lebanon and donations from members across the EUME Community, there has been a lot of investment into helping those in need, find out about all the activities here…

Please read a report here from Yola Park, National Leader Couple in Lebanon

Lebanon Humanitarian Aid Report

On September 30, our members from both YSP and FFWPU gathered at our center to search for ways to help the displaced people. We knew that many displaced families were staying on the main road by the seaside in Beirut as the shelters were getting full of people. The government made public schools available to displaced families but not everyone could fit there. We could see easily many people staying on the streets where many NGOs were helping by providing food and basic necessities to them.

We heard that it was not easy going there as it was a bit risky to go by ourselves. It was a very confusing and chaotic situation. Therefore, we bought many bottles of water and tissues and went to a school and another NGO, close to our center, to check them out. We were told that, in each shelter, there are responsible people from political groups who are in charge of the displaced people and that we won’t be able to distribute food or needed material directly to them. This is how we thought to work with a close NGO to our YSP, Mission Village, that is close to our center in Dekwaneh.

On October 3rd, Mr. Angelucci, our Sub-Regional President, came to Lebanon at a difficult time as the war was at its peak with many explosions taking place in Beirut and in different areas. We could feel his love and concern for our country and we appreciate his desire to help us with our humanitarian work. Thanks to him and Dr. Balcomb’s initiative, we could receive enough donations from our region to plan important projects to help displaced families from the south and people in difficulties due to war.

On October 8, FFWPU and YSP collaborated with Mission Village, to prepare around 230 meals together with ladies who are displaced from the south of Lebanon. It was a nice time working together, as we packed the meals and distributed them for people without shelters on the streets of Beirut. It was so sad to see people on the streets, some were staying in tents and some just arrived to the location. There were families and children as well so we were happy to distribute healthy warm meals to them.

On October 10, Mr. Umberto Angelucci with our national leader’s couple and our YSP representative, Miss. Miki Morita, visited Dekwaneh Municipality. We could meet the Assistant of the Mayor who welcomed us in his office. Miss. Morita gave a presentation of YSP and the activities it had done in Lebanon. Mr. Angelucci offered the Mayor’s Assistant True Mother’s Memoir. We wanted to check how we could help in Dekwaneh, and were thinking to support some refugees who are staying at a public school. It was a fruitful meeting as we agreed to visit a school that is hosting and helping displaced families from the south.

On October 11, YSP Lebanon organized lunch for around 70 people who were evacuated from the south and are hosted in the center of Play for Peace, a soccer training club organization. The meal was prepared by volunteers from FFWPU, while 2 YSP volunteers took time to play with the children. The families were very happy to have lunch with us and we all had a great time together.

On October 14, we met the Principal at Dekwaneh Public High School, she could tell us the needs of the displaced families, around 150 people, including children and elderly. We could discuss how we could help these people in the coming weeks. She explained that the school didn’t have any hot water, moreover, the children needed warm jackets for the coming winter. We contacted our Architect member who took charge of installing hot water at the school.

In order to proceed with this, we had to have the approval of the Ministry of Education. Even though we were told that the procedure will be fast, it took more than 3 weeks to get their approval. Once we got it by email, they sent us the regulations that we are supposed to follow with this work. Mr. Adel, our member in charge of this project, sent the proposal but we were told again to wait for the approval from the Ministry. Finally, we could not receive it yet and the displaced people left the school and the hot water was not needed any more. The displaced families needed a sink at the school, at that time, so they could wash vegetables etc… so we could provide them one thanks to the help of Mr. Adel.

On October 17, YSP and another youth NGO, Life Project 4 Youth, collaborated in preparing food for people on the streets of Beirut. Life Project 4 Youth has 2 programs, the Green Village that is located in Sourat, in Batroun, and a training and development center that is located in Burj Hammoud, in Beirut. 7 young women volunteers joined the YSP team at Mission Village where we could all prepare a special meal for the families residing there. Meals were also packed and distributed in Beirut for families in need due to war.

In the afternoon, the volunteers offered their best to give joy to 37 children of displaced families at Play for Peace, an NGO that is located in Burj Hammoud. They could play games, sing and dance with the young children. At the end, YSP offered snacks and drinks to them. It was indeed a fun and enriching day for everyone !

On Oct. 25, we went again to Mission Village to prepare more than 200 meals. We felt we were becoming close to the families who are waiting to see us. We became as one family. We prepare lunch most of the time together and enjoy having lunch with them.

We decided to do this humanitarian work every week. Many of these displaced families are old people with a few mothers and children. One of the ladies is pregnant and had anemia, we felt sorry for her and she asked us if we could provide her with some medications and vitamins for her condition. Therefore, we bought her and her old mother some medications and the vitamins they needed. On Nov. 7, we went to Mission Village and prepared a nice meal for them.

On October 31, we offered around 200 hamburgers with fries to Mission Village and we were planning to distribute them on the streets of Beirut, however, we were surprised that day to know that the displaced people were moved to closed shelters as the winter was approaching. So our young member from YSP guided us to his University where we distributed the meals there. People were really grateful to have this nice food.

On Nov. 8, we thought about the people at the Public School in Dekwaneh would be happy to receive a nice hot meal in the morning. NGOs were not offering morning meals so we decided to offer them traditional hot bread with special fillings. They were very happy to receive them.

On Nov. 14, we were asked by Mission Village if we could offer 260 meals this time as more displaced families were staying in their friends or relatives’ homes around Beirut suburbs. We were asked as well if we could help with delivering the packed meals to their homes. LP4Y youth volunteers wanted to join us in doing this work, so they came from the North of the country. It took them around 3 to 4 hours to get to Beirut. We could see how much they appreciated their relationship with YSP and were connecting with us as FFWPU. Everyone had a great time working together for a higher purpose. The elderly felt so much everyone’s love. We distributed, in the afternoon until the evening, 63 packed meals to 17 houses in different locations. Four of our FFWPU volunteers went in two cars and did the distribution. This work was not easy as it took us a few hours to reach all homes.

On Nov. 23, LP4Y were so happy to join us again as it took them a lot of time to get to Mission Village, the elders helped in preparing lunch and when the young volunteers arrived they could have time to entertain the displaced families by dancing for them. It was a nice time as a few days ago was the independence Day of Lebanon and many bombings were taking place around Beirut. So everyone enjoyed this special time having a fun time together. Heavenly Parent’s spirit was truly with everyone and felt all as one united family.

On Nov. 25, since the weather was getting cold, we thought it is a good time to buy warm jackets for the young children at the Public School. Hence we bought 28 jackets according to the list of the age and sex of the children. We contacted the Principal and went to deliver them. The mothers and children were so happy and grateful for our gifts. We could even change some of the jackets that didn’t fit well or were not appropriate for the children. In the afternoon, we went back to the school after exchanging the jackets.

After a few days, we heard a cease fire was agreed upon between the two nations, and these kids left the school. We thought they will go to their homes and areas that most were destroyed due to the bombings and they will remember us as they wear these jackets.

On Nov. 28, we went to Mission Village to prepare around 200 meals. Many times our members from

both YSP and FFWPU would come with us and help. These were good experiences for them to learn living for the sake of others and harmoniously work with others. We were touched that one of our young member in YSP, who had his own home destroyed by the bombing, and yet he was helping every time. Our new Blessed couple, who were staying in the center, were taking charge of cooking the meals and were so happy to see other people’s joy of receiving the nice food.

On Dec. 5 and 12, we went again to prepare the meals at Mission Village. Some families went back to their homes but not everyone. The meals that we used to prepare for more than 200 became 120 meals. Some of the remaining families, either had their homes destroyed completely or couldn’t even go back to their hometowns.

We would like to thank our brothers and sisters from Europe who donated kindly to help our people at this difficult time. Lebanese people have been going through many challenges already due to the economic and political uncertainties in our country, so the war was a big tragedy for many here. Many people had their homes totally destroyed, they lost their lands, belongings as well as the good memories from the past.

The government, unlike in other countries, can’t compensate these people. We can see lots of destruction in Beirut as we visited a few days ago. We are thinking seriously how we can help and at the same time find a way to witness to these people. So much help is needed for reconstruction. Also the people are in serious difficulties economically. Many families find it hard to pay for the school tuition of their children or even elderly can’t easily buy medicine.

We would like to continue helping our Heavenly Tribal Messiah families cause everyone was affected by this war. Some people’s salaries decreased due to the tough situation. We want to help especially with the school tuition for the children. We want to reach out to new families in Beirut and give them hope.

We received 12,675$ from Mr. Umberto and 5,075$ from Mr. Peter, so in total 17,750$. We used 10,467.7$ and 8,482$ remain.

This coming Christmas, we plan to invite our Heavenly Tribal Messiah families with their children to our center for a Christmas celebration and offer them some donations as gifts for them. As we explained earlier, the destruction is huge after the war, we plan to reach out to new families to expand our Heavenly Tribal Messiah family foundation. We will study how we can offer services in order to develop our witnessing and expand our holy community in Lebanon.