Over the past few days, the situation in Lebanon has rapidly deteriorated as significant portions of the population have become internally displaced (in the hundreds of thousands).
My friend Omar is helping financially supporting improvised shelters in Tripoli and Beirut housing 500 people displaced from South Lebanon, and they desperately need our help. Their most urgent needs are warm blankets, mattresses and clothes for the time being.
I have reopened this GoFundMe which was used in 2024 as we're hoping to raise money as quickly as possible. Thank you for your contributions, every dollar helps. Reposting and sharing is also extremely helpful.
Winter 2024:
My name is Celeste. I am a Lebanese-American trying to help my friend Omar Shaarani financially support three improvised shelters for displaced people from Southern Lebanon. Here is Omar's message:
We have 450 people, mostly women and children, staying in an old school and a courtyard of another private school in Tripoli, which are both being repurposed as shelters. We are also helping displaced families in Akkar, totaling 300 people. These are the necessities to get us through the next two weeks:
- For the winter: 300 blankets ($1,650) and 300 jackets ($600) for displaced families in Akkar
- 2 gas tanks (to cook and to have hot water for showers) ($250 for each tank)
- We will need around 6 refills of gas ($15 every refill)
- 120 mattresses ($17 each)
- Underwear (very crucial and very expensive)
- Women’s pads ($20 per 24 pcs) + diapers ($3 per 12 pcs)
- Kids' milk ($6 each); we keep on needing this as there are many kids
- We need two water tanks because now we only get water when there is electricity, around 2 hours per day ($120 each)
- Food ($500 can buy enough ready-to-eat snacks for 1 week for 1 school) - foul (fava beans), hummus, cheese, drinkable water, etc.
Those are the essentials that we need to survive the next two weeks in the shelters. Any help from the outside would be greatly appreciated as over 25% of Lebanese people are displaced and our internal resources are extremely overwhelmed. Thank you all for your support.
