Dearest Friends and Family,

Lebanon needs your help.

Background:

The current conflict in Lebanon as well as its crippling economic crisis has completely exacerbated the Lebanese State in taking care of its own citizens during a time of crisis. This is where the mass bombing campaign on civilian homes and infrastructure throughout the country as well as worsening economic conditions have resulted in mass displacement of villages, towns and cities creating an exodus of Lebanese citizens seeking refugee in the capital city, Beirut with almost nothing to their names. The conditions of the displaced in Beirut are distressing and life threatening as there are a number of reports of families starving, living on the streets and worst of all lacking any access to basic hygienic necessities which risks the spread of disease. It is clear that the displaced in Beirut are not only living under siege within their own country but also slowly suffocating with the pace of the conflict and economic crisis. Therefore, an immediate donation based crowdfunding intervention is needed in order to alleviate their suffering and somewhat make a small contribution to building some form of capacity to deal with the demand of the displaced in Beirut.

Scope and Distribution of AID:

Henceforth, for this donation based crowdfunding campaign I Matine Khosrowshahi who currently resides in the UK as well as with my very close friend named Ali who is a Lebanese national and currently resides in Lebanon have carefully structured and planned out a specific system that responds to some of the needs of the displaced in Beirut. This is where Ali and I have come up with the idea of a shoebox appeal that prioritizes the current needs of the displaced families in Beirut where it provides them with food and access to basic hygienic necessities. The items in the shoebox given to the families would be completely funded with your donations in this campaign which would be transferred via Western Union to Ali. This is where Ali and I would work as a team. Ali would buy the products for the shoebox appeal, package it, check it and then distribute it to displaced families in Beirut under my supervision and guidance. In fact, your donations would cover one type of shoebox given to the families which have been purposely customized to their demands as the team I and have already been in contact with over 50 displaced families in Beirut that are in need of urgent help.

Your donations would cover buying the items for each shoebox, which include:

Shoebox:

X2 Tinned White Tuna

X1 Tinned Sardines

X1 Tinned Chicken Mortadella

X1 Tinned Hummus

X2 Tinned Foul

X1 Bottle of Cooking Oil

X1 Tinned Jam

X1 Small Bag of Rice

X1 Fresh Bread

X2 Dry Spaghetti

X1 Canned Corn

X1 Tea Bag Box

X1 Powdered Milk

X3 Coffee Slips

X1 Bar of Soap

X1 Shampoo

X2 Toothbrush

X1 Toothpaste

All shoeboxes given would come with a 1 gallon bottled mineral water, single large blanket, winter clothes and toys for children that would be provided on the side.

Please be advised that in order to control what is given, there would be no funds given directly or indirectly to the displaced families for security reasons such as their safety and ours.

It is important to note that all selected items mentioned above have also gone through checks with their nutrition, value and quantity so the team and I can ensure that as much aid is given as possible and as well as remains cost effective. The items selected in each shoebox have also been counted and are equal in the amount of items given in a shoebox making it fair in its distribution to a family. This is where we hope if such funding is successful we could aim to expand our operations and help other displaced families outside of Beirut.

In these difficult times with winter approaching we kindly ask for your support. Any donation you make, regardless of how small or large, will make a difference. Ali and I can assure you that all donations will reach the displaced families who need it most in Beirut.

Your generosity and solidarity in these challenging times are invaluable, and will mean the world to everyone we aim to help as it will help alleviate the suffering of those that have lost everything.

Ali and I thank you in advance.

Wishing peace and prosperity for Lebanon.

P.S: Please do feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the campaign or recommendations by simply leaving me a message or a comment on this post. I will also make sure to keep you up to date with the progress of the shoebox appeal on this post.