Help is Not Far Away
“We never lose hope, never!”
Lebanon is enduring a compounding crisis, including a massive explosion in Beirut’s port, economic collapse, rising political instability, and the COVID-19 global pandemic. As these crises fail to be adequately addressed in the country, the situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate.
With the Lebanese pound losing 90% of its value, people’s ability to access basic goods, including food, shelter, and healthcare, is compromised. The economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic are severely affecting the medical sector, endangering the ability of Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese families to access proper healthcare.
As the situation worsens, Tearfund’s local partner, Medair, is on the ground acting as the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are in need.
Najwa, 40, relies on Medair’s supported clinics to provide health care for her and her children.
Najwa’s youngest daughter, Serine, has been suffering from an infection in her foot. Najwa brought her daughter to Dr. Bilal at the health clinic in Jeb Jannine to take a look at the infection.
“She kept me up all night and wouldn’t stop crying. It worried me. I thought perhaps the infection had gotten worse and so my motherly instinct told me to bring her by the health clinic today to get her foot checked. During the night, to calm her while holding her, I kept whispering, ‘Help is not far away,’ in her ear, because I knew the health clinic was an option,” says Najwa as she places Serine on the medical checkup bed.
While Dr. Bilal was checking Serine’s foot infection, Najwa shared with us some more. “My family and I fled Syria nine years ago, escaping the horrors that happened in our beloved country. We were a happy family, but we lost so much to the war. Everything we once knew is gone. I don’t want to lose anyone or anything else,” says Najwa.
Outside of Syria, with the compounding crises Lebanon is facing, Najwa’s family is struggling to provide for themselves.
“My husband used to be a salesman back in Syria, a well respected salesman,” Najwa says. “We were living a noble life. Now, with the pandemic and the economic instability, work is limited and he has not been able to work for several months. Currently my eldest son of twenty years is the sole provider in our home,” says Najwa.
Shortly after she continues: “But we never lose hope, never! As long as there is support being provided by organizations, we maintain hope for the near future that the situation might once again be in our favor someday,” says Najwa as she takes a now-calm Serine back into her arms.
In Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, Tearfund’s local partner, Medair, supports local health clinics that are part of the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) Social Development Centres (SDCs). Medair provides subsidized health care to Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese families.
Medair supports five clinics in Central, West and North Bekaa to improve access to primary health care services. Our partner supports the Social Development Centre clinics (run by the Ministry of Social Affairs) with human resources, medicines, equipment, capacity building and supportive supervision.
Medair’s health work in Lebanon is made possible with Global Affairs Canada in partnership with Tearfund Canada and with the financial support of the European Union through the European Union Regional Trust Fund ‘MADAD’.
At Tearfund, we choose to follow Jesus where the need is greatest. We’re proud to partner with Medair as they seek to care for the lives of vulnerable people in Lebanon. Because of you, thousands of women and families like Najwa’s are receiving life-changing medical care and support.
