EMERGENCY FUNDS
FOR LEBANON - JULY / AUGUST 2006
In
response to the humanitarian crisis brought about by
the mass re-location of over 600,000 internally displaced civilians in
Lebanon, Humanserve raised
funds that were sent directly to our NGO partner in south
Lebanon (more information).
To
kick-off the campaign,
Humanserve
hosted a fundraiser on Sunday, July 23, 2006 at Pita the Great.
We would like to give special thanks to Joe Hak and the staff at Pita the
Great and to all the people who volunteered their time and equipment on such
short notice.
Thanks
to the generosity of our supporters,
$17,201 was raised.
LEBANON CRISIS -
BACKGROUND
On July 12, 2006, military actions began in Lebanon that included massive damage to all infrastructure (including airports,
roads, bridges, power plants, fuel storage facilities and gas stations)
and massive demolition of civilian residences. Innocent civilians were unable to flee due to on-going
bombardments and the damage to infrastructure and many lost their lives.
The forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of
Lebanese civilians within Lebanon's borders created what the UN called a massive humanitarian crisis. The destruction of roads and
bridges and the targeting of relief supply and food trucks created a
shortage of food, water and medical supplies that was most keenly felt in
the areas that were trying to absorb the refugees.
HOW YOU HELPED
Many people around the world were shocked by
the ongoing devastation and carnage. Humanserve
offered an opportunity to take action and provide monetary support to
those in need.
Monies raised were transferred directly to aid PARD, one of our partners in
Lebanon. PARD (in cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry
of Social Affairs, the Lebanese High Commission for Relief, the Lebanese
Ministry of Health, NGOs in Beirut and the NGO
Forum in Saida, Lebanon) had been working tirelessly since the first day of
the crisis to provide emergency assistance to 10,000 displaced persons re-located in Saida, south of Beirut. They identified
the following needs:
WRISTBAND FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN
Mr. Mouhamed Mouallem initiated a
community-based fundraising campaign to assist victims of the summer of
2006 war in
Lebanon. The wristbands that he designed were on sale at many
Arabic stores in Edmonton and at other locations in Alberta. Mr. Mouallem pledged to donate the profits raised from the sale of these
wristbands to Humanserve. In total, Humanserve received
$8,709 and we sent this donation
directly to our partner PARD
as part of our larger campaign that assisted internally displaced Lebanese civilians
relocated to temporary shelters in Beirut and Sidon.
(Click here for more information about Emergency Funds
for Lebanon 2006.)
For more information about the wristband campaign
please visit
Mr. Mouallem's website:
www.myspace.com/lebcrisis
