Irish humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide is using €142,000 collected from the public in Ireland and the UK over the last few weeks to provide 26,100 hot meals to people living in temporary emergency shelters in the Lebanese capital. 

They are working with local charity Nusaned, who are preparing and delivering meals to families who are living in school buildings while air strikes continue in parts of Beirut and throughout the country.  

“People trying to escape the conflict are afraid and in desperate need of support,” said Concern’s Programme Director, Chris Connelly.

“We are very concerned that many of the 1.4 million people who fled their homes are increasingly vulnerable to hunger and that poor living conditions could see a rise in serious illnesses.

“Thanks to the incredible support we have in Ireland and the UK we have partnered with Nusaned to provide life changing assistance to families who fled their homes with little or nothing.

“We are also helping to prepare people for winter because it can get extremely cold and people need warm places to live and access to basic services.”

Concern and Nusaned are also providing 800 families in Beirut with “hygiene kits” containing items like soap, water purification tablets, nappies and sanitary towels.

The distribution of meals and hygiene items will continue until the end of the year and it is hoped that there will be further aid coming into the country to continue this support in 2025.

Concern is responding to the need for emergency accommodation in parts of north Lebanon where hundreds of thousands of people have fled to try and escape the conflict. 

They are providing them with essential living items and offering psychological support to children left traumatised by their ordeal – including recreational activities like football. 

Their teams have been providing displaced families in shelters with blankets, mattresses, solar lamps and other supplies to help them prepare for the cold winter months.

“The displaced populations here in Lebanon face significant challenges in meeting their basic needs with the winter months also fast approaching,” added Chris Connelly.

“There are also a lot of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon who have been displaced again with some needing to move to new temporary accommodation and others going back into Syria.

“This humanitarian crisis has resulted in schools closing and hundreds of thousands of children have had their lives upended as they fled their neighbourhoods.

“One boy staying at an emergency shelter told us: ‘I miss my bedroom. My dream is to go back home and sleep in my bed.’

“We will continue to do everything we can to support the most vulnerable as this conflict continues.

Concern began its work in Lebanon in 2013 in response to a mass influx of refugees from Syria into the country. 

Prior to this current conflict, over 1.5 million Syrian refugees were living in Lebanon, a country that is about the size of Munster with a population of 5.2 million.

Lebanon was also suffering from chronic economic problems, which have now been exacerbated.