STUDENTS IN LEBANON AND IMC WORKING TOGETHER TO PROVIDE CRITICAL SUPPLIES TO LEBANESE RETURNEES
International Medical Corps (IMC)
Aug. 22, 2006
One week after the ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of people are
returning home to find their communities and houses destroyed.
Particularly in the south, people are finding themselves without
regular power and water. They are in need of bottled water and
prepared food as well as health care. IMC is playing a critical role
in supplying them with the necessary supplies to help them rebuild
their lives.
Last week, half-a-dozen students spent the afternoon in a large, muggy
warehouse in Beirut packing IMC-assembled hygiene kits for displaced
families of southern Lebanon. Each kit contains basic supplies like
shampoo, soap, sanitary napkins and toothpaste and is designed to
last a family of six people one month.
"IMC provided that push to get me started," Diana Ohanian, a
23-year-old nursing student at the American University of Beirut who
wanted to give back to her community and supervised the project.
Although she felt obligated to help, she did not know how to get
involved.
For Diana, helping provide relief is particularly personal. Her
grandmother came to Lebanon as an Armenian refugee and benefited
from foreign aid. Diana herself hid in a basement for seven days as
a child during the Lebanese Civil War.
"A week without a bath made a big impression on me," she said.
IMC conducted a needs-assessment survey that showed a lack of financial
resources is not always the biggest problem for displaced people. A
more significant problem is lack of infrastructure.
Wholesale and retail distribution points, as well as distribution
routes, were severely damaged during the recent conflict. IMC’s
surveys are vital to ensure distribution to the appropriate people.
IMC is working to meet the immediate needs of thousands of people
returning to Lebanon every day by providing medical care to those along
the Syria/Lebanon border. Even amid the uncertainty and destruction,
they found a reason to celebrate.
"We were just married one hour ago, in Syria, and vowed to go to our
country in our wedding clothes," said Jameel, the groom. This made
his bride, Sarah, smile.
Jameel and Sarah fled southern Lebanon when the fighting began and
met in a Syrian camp. Upon meeting, they said that it was indeed love
at first sight. Two weeks later they decided to marry, but wanted
to wait until the fighting stopped. After the August 14 ceasefire,
they chose to salute their country by wearing clothes that represented
peace and joy and to enter their city with an event that would lessen
the sorrow of the wreckage they would face.
Though the real celebration will take place with their friends
and family in Lebanon, IMC team members wanted to celebrate their
wedding before they crossed the border. They played festive music
on the medical team’s van stereo and danced around the wedding
car. IMC distributed chocolates to refugees who wanted to join in
the festivities.
Throughout the month-long conflict IMC used mobile medical units
to reach thousands of displaced people and refugees in Lebanon and
Syria. IMC is providing people with returnee packages which include
items such as hygiene materials, house cleaning products, baby formula,
and powder milk. An estimated 1,200 people have died and more than
4,000 injured since the fighting began in July.