Lutheran World Relief partner organization The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the local member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International in Lebanon, continues to reach out to people who have been displaced by the fighting in their country. Lutheran World Relief, a member of ACT, is supporting the ACT network’s response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the eruption of violence last month.
MECC's Inter-Church Network for Development and Relief (ICNDR) is heading up the relief operation, which in this critical phase has included distributing food and non-food items to the most vulnerable families seeking shelter in schools and on church property in Beirut. ACT member Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) is also implementing part of the response in Lebanon.
In an update, the general secretary of MECC, Guirgis Saleh said, “Safe passage for aid convoys remains a major problem. Similarly, fuel availability, rising prices and clean water in south Lebanon, are of growing concern to each and every one.”
Mr. Saleh reports that the ICNDR relief staff was able to distribute 390 food parcels and hygiene items yesterday to families who have fled the conflict from the south and southern Beirut.
On Saturday, July 29, the NCA team also visited two schools in Beirut where people are taking shelter.
An NCA staff member said in an update over the telephone that they had started trucking water to some of the centers for some 1,700 displaced people in Beirut and have also started work on the construction of shower facilities.
