Samaritan’s Purse transported more than 51 tons of urgently needed relief supplies to Beirut this week to serve dislodged families.
The Samaritan’s Purse 767 aircraft made its third trip to Lebanon in the last two weeks to deliver another 50-plus tons of relief supplies, including medical resources for hospitals and clinics. This most recent load also brought more solar lights, hygiene and kitchen supplies, tents, blankets, and jerry cans. In total, we’ve flown in over 150 tons of aid, which we are providing to church partners to distribute to some of the nearly 1 million people who have had to leave their homes due to conflict.
Samaritan’s Purse team loaded the 767 aircraft with more than 51 tons of relief supplies before it embarked on its third mission to help hurting families Lebanon.
Now living with relatives or in schools or community centers, these hurting families are receiving desperately needed items, including diapers and cleaning supplies, which they no longer have money to buy since they had to leave their jobs behind to find safety. Some are also living in hotels or even on the streets.
A church partner distributes aid to women who have found safety in Beirut.
One woman named Ruz described how she and her three boys had walked for over 10 hours to reach safety. When they arrived at a shelter in Beirut, the place seemed foreign, though still in her own country. They were especially grateful for the warm greeting from our church
partners.
“As soon as we arrived, they gave us canned goods. They handed us a box with supplies, bringing us groceries and potatoes.”
Ruz receives a box of supplies from a church partner in Lebanon.
The blankets among the supplies helped her family find comfort and warmth.
“We are right by the sea, so there is a biting cold—a sea breeze,” the woman said. “What a chill! It feels like freezing, snowy weather.”
Still, she is grateful.
“God has been generous,” she said. “The most important thing is that the children are safe … We are making do—even if it is with very little. Praise be to God.”
Showing the Love of Jesus
Our church partners are seeing this as an opportunity to serve the people of their country, regardless of religious background. With supplies from this airlift and the two previous ones, they are able to distribute a variety of items including kitchen kits containing cooking pots, plates, cups, and spoons, as well as hygiene kits with toothbrushes, razors, soap, shampoo, washcloths, a comb and a hairbrush.
In a warehouse in Lebanon, team members tally boxes of jerry cans that arrived on the airlifts prior to distributing them to families in need.
Seeing the gratitude among the people for these everyday items, one volunteer noted, “When they see Christian people going and helping them, they see the love of Jesus. [They ask,] Why are you helping us? You are Christian. Why are you helping us? We are Muslims.”
“We love you,” our teams say.
“Why do you love me?”
“Because we love everybody and we need to share this love of Jesus.”
Please pray for Samaritan’s Purse team members and our church partners in Lebanon to continue to be a beacon of light to those in need.
