The situation is dire in Lebanon. I talked to one of our people that went to assess the situation and the stories he has to tell are heartbreaking. One such story is about a woman that works in a hospital and gets paid 1 million lira a month, which is equal to $25. Her husband is making $20 a month. How do they raise a family on this?

This story is indicative of what the middle class in Lebanon is going through, so imagine what the poor are going through. They are lucky to eat one meal a day and that does not include any meat. The babies have no formula, and they are drinking a water and sugar mixture and are at risk of severe malnutrition.

The Lebanese currency has been so devalued that it is hardly worth anything now, and it is getting worse. Nothing in the history of Lebanon has been this bad, even during the civil wars. We are witnessing a collapse of civil society with critical infrastructure breaking down – electricity is not regularly available and is very sporadic, and water treatment is on the brink of collapse, putting everyone that uses a public water supply at risk.

The SCM volunteers are all committed to helping everyone they can on the ground here and overseas. We have been able since the beginning of the crisis to help:

1. Two airlifts in partnership with the Jordan Hashemite Charities and the Jordan military, we sent two cargo planes of medical supplies and humanitarian goods to Beirut. These were distributed by our people so we know that they went to the people that needed them
2. Food parcels distributed in Zahle and Saida several times this year
3. Cancer medications worth $20K delivered and distributed
4. Donation to Red Cross Lebanon $250K
5. Funds were sent for emergency and surgical supplies
6. Our rep in Jordan flew into Lebanon a number of times with excess luggage of oxygen condensers, solar lanterns and other items from the warehouse in Madaba for distribution

We really need your help more now then ever. We just need as many people as possible to please make a contribution, no matter how much, everything will help. We are trying to raise $50K to get food and other supplies to the people. If we send $5000 that will buy food for one month for 200 families of 4, but that is not enough.

Help us help them. Thank you.

---

This quote is from an article in Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/tatianakoffman/2020/07/09/lebanons-currency-crisis-paves-the-way-to-a-new-future/) from just over a year ago, and right before the blast at the Port of Beirut. The financial situation is just as true today as it was then, and worse.

This crisis has been escalating for a few years now, reaching a peak where the government soon won’t be able to keep the drinking water safe. As the economy collapses, the people need our help even more. Please donate today.

Syrians living in Jordan came to our warehouse yesterday to pick up clothing, blankets, and shoes for their children and themselves for Eid.

This is the Eid Al-Adha, or Eid of the Sacrifice, commemorating Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son at Allah’s command. At the last moment, Allah spared Ibrahim’s son and replaced him with a ram to be sacrificed instead. You can read more about this holiday by clicking here.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

As the end of Ramadan approaches, SCM has been busy distributing food, supplies, clothing and toys to local refugee families and to those in Jordan and Lebanon. Thank you to all who have donated and to our teams in Lebanon and Jordan. Our teams organize and conduct the distributions so SCM can help as many people as possible. It’s not too late to donate for Ramada, so please visit our Donation page.

Here are just a few photos from the various distributions.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

On March 28, 2021 SCM had a distribution event from our warehouse there. We handed out blankets and quilts, and clothing to refugee families. Thank you again for your continued support, and especially to Quilts Beyond Borders for sending us the wonderful quilts distributed to the refugee children. Not only are these quilts practical and keep the children warm at night, but they are so colorful they add a bit of cheer to those who receive them.

Our next container is leaving soon for Lebanon, so if you are local (Seattle area) and have anything you want to donate, please bring it to us by Wednesday April 7th. We are in need of used computer laptops or tablets that are cleared of all data or reset to original configuration and either have the password or are ready to set up for a new user. Please deliver to our office by April 7th – 3806 Whitman Ave N, Seattle WA 98103. Call if you have any questions – 206-545-7307.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Ramadan begins next month on the 12th of April. Please join us in providing food to refugees here in the Seattle area as well as in Jordan and Lebanon. We will be distributing packages of food for families of 4-5 that will have basic necessities such as salt, sugar, beans, pasta, cooking oil, tinned meat, tea, and more, and will feed them for a month.

Ramadan Food Drive Goal: $10,000

We have already begun distributions of clothing for refugees living in Jordan and women from Daraa and also from Damascus came to our warehouse to pick out clothing for themselves. It was Mother’s Day in the Middle East so we had a special distribution for them. Thank you for your donations for our shipping containers as well as monetary donations that enabled this to happen. Don’t forget we have another container going out soon and you can check or previous post for the needed items for that container.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

SCM has spent a decade helping the refugees that have fled Syria and other war-torn countries in the Middle East. We have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide food, medicine, basic supplies, supported medical missions to the region and sent containers loaded with supplies you have donated to help the refugees get back on their feet. The refugees have left everything behind, including beloved pets as they scooped up their children and ran for their lives. Now, we want to direct a bit of our efforts to help those four-legged victims of the war in Syria by supporting Ernesto’s Sanctuary for Cats, near Aleppo.

Before the civil war in Syria, Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel was an electrician in Aleppo. After the war broke out, he began driving an ambulance to help those injured get medical care as fast as possible. While he was driving around the city, he noticed the abandoned and stray cats and started feeding them.

Aljaleel has always cared for animals, believing it was a responsibility to care for those who are innocents and not able to care for themselves. Eventually his story got out and he was known as the Aleppo Catman. He was able to turn a neighboring property to his home into a shelter for the cats and was soon housing 100 little furry survivors of the war.
The story spread even more, and more help came to him to feed and care for the animals. But they were not safe and the sanctuary soon was hit by an explosion during a bombing in the city. Over the next several years, the sanctuary was able to move to safety, take in more animals, and expand to include a vet clinic and a farm for larger animals such as horses, goats, dogs, etc.

In their current location, outside of Aleppo in the countryside, they house about 1000 cats, provide free vet services to the community, rescue animals in distress or suffering abuse, spay and neuter, and provide employment for several people that feed, clean, assist the vet, serve the food in their “restaurant of 1000 cats” and maintain the properties. They also have in the past provided animal therapy to orphaned children and plan to continue to do that as well as support a local orphanage.

SCM wants to support Ernesto’s Sanctuary for Cats in their efforts to save lives and make their world a little brighter. They are always in need of funds for food and medications/vaccines for the cats and other animals they take in. Please make a tax-deductible donation to help Ernesto’s take care of the animals that have been left behind while their families became refugees. Our goal is to raise $5000 for them.

Read more about Ernesto’s on their website: House of Cats Ernesto – The official website (ernestosanctuary.org).

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•