How to Support the Beirut Relief Efforts

As you many all be aware, on August 4th, at 6pm local time, a massive explosion took place at the Seaport of Beirut in Lebanon. It appears the cause of the explosion was due to the accidental ignition of over 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for many years at the ports.

This thread puts you there in #Beirut. You are not alone @MelissaAjamian, we stand with you and all of #Lebanon .

Please read and donate blood, funds or time… Whichever you can. #PrayersForLebanon https://t.co/RDBMTyFOM0

— Ms. Hala – #WearAMask (@MsHalaCo) August 6, 2020

This very preventable explosion has taken over 125 lives, injured over 3,000 people and destroyed the homes of more than half the city’s residents. There is a dire need for blood donations, volunteers, and funds to help with an already strained healthcare system due to COVID-19.

If you are in Lebanon, you can safely go to any local hospital or clinic to donate blood and see if there is a need for volunteers. There are many groups gathering to help with the cleaning and rebuilding efforts as well. Every little bit counts.

View this post on Instagram

Keeping the beautiful people of Beirut, Lebanon in my prayers. If you are in Lebanon, safely donate blood, volunteer, provide rides or shelter as needed. If you are outside Lebanon, please support @impact.lebanon and @lebaneseredcross. Links in respective bios and stories. "To God we belong and to Him we shall return" — #Repost @impact.lebanon (@get_repost) ・・・ We are all in shock witnessing the massive explosion that happened at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020. The extent of the damages is devastating. Our people in Lebanon have been suffering through a difficult financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. – We are calling on the world, our friends, our fellow Lebanese in the diaspora to donate to help us provide disaster relief. We are reaching out to the Lebanese Red Cross and various NGOs who will need our help and we will update the page providing exact details on how your money will be spent. We will be diligent in making the donations and will be able to provide more clarity as soon as possible. – Link in bio to donate. – #impactlebanon #lebanesediaspora #diaspora #connecting #lebanon #impact #fundraising #beirutexplosion #prayforbeirut #relief

A post shared by Ms. Hala (@mshalaco) on Aug 4, 2020 at 7:00pm PDT

For the rest of us outside of Lebanon that can donate, the best resources I’ve found so far are the Lebanese Red Cross and the Impact Lebanon crowdsourcing initiative through Just Giving. You can search for your local NGOs that may be offering assistance but I’ve listed a few I’ve come across below.

Kindly note that when making a donation to Lebanese NGOs, do not make it in the country’s currency (Lebanese Lyra/Pound), as it sadly has been collapsing over the past year. Your best bet will be to do so in either US dollars or the Euro.

Baytna Baytak has been helping house healthcare workers and first responders across Lebanon during the pandemic response. Now they are working to help the more than 300,000 displaced residents of Beirut find temporary shelter.

International Medical Corps is helping survivors get life-saving care, deploying medical units and mental health care efforts in support of the damaged facilities and overwhelmed healthcare.

Islamic Relief has an office in Beirut and thankfully their staff is safe. Now they are working to bring much-needed aid and relief support to Beirut.

World Food Program of the UN is helping bring food to the area after the major food sources, like the grain silos, were destroyed at the Beirut port.

If you know of any other organizations providing relief support and assistance that can use our donations, please share them in the comments or tag me on any social media platform, my handle for most is @mshalaco.

May God have mercy on the beautiful people of Lebanon, ameen.