Your gifts to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal are making a difference...in Lebanon and Syria
With gifts that Outreach supporters sent to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal, along with other funds on hand, we were able to send $16,000 to support the emergency outreach ministries of Together for the Family (TFF), a ministry partner in Lebanon, which serves Syrian refugees in the Bekaa Valley.
Over 76,000 Syrian families - some 350,000 souls, of whom 60% are children - are still living in this fertile but harsh valley just over the border from Syria. Despite the presence of many large aid agencies who are caring for this vulnerable population in the vast camps, thousands “fall through the cracks” because they have chosen to live in smaller clusters outside the “mega camps.”
Several years ago, TFF’s Director, Izdihar Kassis, whose home in Zahle overlooks the Bekaa Valley, began to meet many of these refugees in the streets and shops near her house, and as conversations developed with the mothers who were carrying small babies and trailing a toddler, began to discern that most of the women had inadequate care available to them for these little ones. She began a feeding program to ensure the infants had formula if needed, as well as medicines, and basic food supplies for the other children in the family. As the ministry grew, Izdihar found a small piece of land to rent, near the “informal camps” where many of these women lived, and, from a small trailer, expanded her outreach to offer classes to teach the young girls sewing and hairdressing and the young boys, woodworking. Soon, other trailers were needed to open a small clinic, a school, and a meeting room where the women could gather while Izdihar dispensed the Good News of Christ’s love along with the desperately needed aid. As Izdihar and her volunteers built trust with this fragile community, they were invited into the tents where tender relationships developed and deeper conversations could be carried on to offer “a Hope and a future.”
The dire circumstances of these families were exponentially compounded when the global pandemic forced everyone to “shelter in place” and the sole “breadwinner” in the family - be it the father or a teenage son or daughter - lost access to the meager (and irregular) day’s wage they might have earned from a nearby farm or small factory. And so, the ministry of Together for the Family quickly refocused on the new circumstances, as Izdihar writes:
In addition to raising awareness on how to take necessary precautions against COVID-19, we provided drills to children and mothers on proper handwashing. We also distributed free soap and sanitizers. Our women and teenage girls in the sewing schools started to make masks (photo above). The goal was to produce 1000 masks to be distributed to the Syrian refugees. I am glad to tell you that we reached our goal in no time and we are aiming now to produce an additional 2000 more masks.
When visiting the Syrian refugees’ camps we noticed that the UNHCR is hardly supporting them with life necessities. Those refugees who were able to do some work in factories or in the fields are now confined to their tents. TFF has decided to provide weekly food baskets to families. We were able to provide for 100 families but the need is to help 400 more families. Most importantly, we are devoting time to teach about God’s sovereignty, providence, and love even in this exceptional time.
These two short videos give you a glimpse into the ministry of Together for the Family:
Click here to learn more about Outreach's COVID-19 Emergency Appeal and click here to learn about the use of funds already sent to other places and partners around the world because of your generosity.