“Now that Christmas is approaching, families are not even worrying about if they can buy nice gifts for their children – their fears are more basic, that they won’t even be able to provide a home or food by that time.” – The words of a Lebanese Christian leader to Barnabas Fund on Thursday.
With winter coming, the ongoing fuel crisis is biting even deeper as daylight hours get shorter and the temperature drops in this mountainous land.
The August 2020 explosion, which killed at least 218, particularly affected East Beirut’s Christian neighbourhoods, with many Christians amongst the injured, homeless and dead
Many people in the areas most impacted by last year’s explosion at the port of Beirut do not yet have proper windows or doors in their damaged houses. The majority of them are Christian. Keeping warm this winter will be more difficult than ever.
Lebanon’s crippled economy has reached such a low point that state-supplied electricity has dwindled to almost zero, so that extended blackouts engulf all without private generators. Fuel, whether for generators or cars, is becoming increasingly scarce, and so expensive that many cannot buy it even when available.
Worst hunger in living memory
Shelter and warmth are not the only problem. Food is a challenge too. Already many families are going without meals in a time of hunger unlike anything in living memory in Lebanon. Both the impoverished and those who are better off are suffering together.
Street protests in Beirut this week about the investigation into last year’s port blast have resulted in several deaths and many injuries.
Your help is needed more urgently than ever.
Christians in Lebanon queue patiently to receive food and other essential aid provided by Barnabas. More help is urgently needed
Be an answer to their prayers
Your gifts, sent through Barnabas Fund, are an answer to the prayers of many Lebanese Christians. They are providing food parcels for hungry families and medicines for the sick.
Above all, your gifts are bringing hope and building faith.
Costs are fluctuating all the time, but a typical family food parcel could cost £27 ($35; €30).
