Decades of corruption and mismanagement had left Lebanon in an economic crisis forcing many families to shift below the poverty line. Then came the Coronavirus pandemic which shook the country’s poor healthcare system.
To make situations worse, on 4th August, two massive explosions hit Beirut, claiming hundreds of lives and leaving thousands of them injured and homeless. The chaos caused by the blasts has accelerated the spread of Covid-19 to a record high causing the hospitals to be overwhelmed with Coronavirus and the blast patients.
Just a couple of days after the blasts, the entire government of Lebanon resigned adding up to the already existing severe political unrest in the country. The people in Lebanon are homeless, injured, hungry, devoid of basic facilities, clueless, and exposed to the spread of Coronavirus.
Go Dharmic is a UK based charity that operates globally to help solve social problems and spread love and compassion to every community in every city. We develop libraries in underprivileged schools all over the world, feed the homeless and vulnerable and provide eyesight operations, just to name a few of our campaigns. During the Coronavirus pandemic, we have now distributed over 2 million meals to the elderly, vulnerable and homeless globally.
Go Dharmic volunteers who live in Beirut started relief work straight away as soon as the blasts hit the city. Many families lost their homes, the impact of the blasts was felt all over the city, buildings collapsed, windows were blown in, and hundreds of people lost their loved ones. Shops have been unable to open, so families are running low on food supplies, and many people are experiencing hunger.
The project was led by Elie Saade, an amazing individual who has been working all his life to help others and to spread compassion. Elie and his team worked with local shops, businesses and organisations to procure all of the items for the ration kits, and shortlisted the most vulnerable and devastated areas in Beirut. They began coordinating ration kits that included enough long-life, nutritious ingredients to feed a family for over a week. The ration kits included items such as tea, milk, pasta, canned vegetables, lentils and rice.
Elie Saade said:
“Through the effort, we’ve been exerting on the ground in Beirut as Go Dharmic, I cannot describe enough the sense of joy and relief that people we’re supporting are expressing, inviting us into their homes, even insisting to sit down and have a conversation with them, and by the end of the day, we realized that our work is more than just giving out food relief but building a sense of solidarity and community in the time where it matters the most.”
https://www.youtube.com/embed/gCJUm_g0dSc
Initially, 50 ration kits, which equates to over 6000 meals were distributed to the families in the worst affected areas of the city, and Go Dharmic has plans to distribute a further 600 kits to more families in need.
Sanjay Sidar, GD Board member has also been instrumental in raising over £5000 for the Beirut project.
“It has been a wonderful service by Ellie and the team in Beirut delivering food relief to poor families. Dharma is love for all beings and it is our duty to the people of Beirut right now.”
-Hemal Randerwala, GD founder
Help Go Dharmic distribute more ration kits to families devastated by the blasts in Beirut by donating
If you know a local business, organisation or individual who could help Elie and the Go Dharmic team in Beirut, please email info@godharmicstag.wpenginepowered.com
