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Your Bread is Our Duty: Lebanese initiate hunger relief program amid COVID-19

Lebanese volunteers initiate hunger relief program amid COVID-19 in Tripoli. (Facebook)
Lebanese volunteers initiate hunger relief program amid COVID-19 in Tripoli. (Facebook)
Lebanese associations initiate hunger relief program amid COVID-19 in Tripoli. (Facebook)
Lebanese associations initiate hunger relief program amid COVID-19 in Tripoli. (Facebook)
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31 Mar 2020 09:03:54 GMT9
31 Mar 2020 09:03:54 GMT9

Carla Chahrour

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to spread, people around the world are living in uncertain times. Infections and fatalities are rising as cities and countries go into lockdown.

However, in a country already suffering from a political, economic, and financial crisis, such as Lebanon, the outbreak has resulted in increased disadvantages and has wreaked havoc for many of the country’s people.

Government sanctions and curbs on labor that have ordered the closure of private and public business, in line with the near-total lockdown that began on March 15, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, has enticed non-profit-organizations to step up and aid in the provision basic needs.

A group of volunteers from the "Izdihar" non-profit organization and the "She Shabbalki" Goup launched an initiative entitled "Khibzak Abaytak" which is Arabic for “Your bread to you home” that aims to alleviate the burden of the pandemic and help provide bread to low-income families in Tripoli.

Speaking exclusively to Arab News Japan, the spokesperson of the She Shabaklaki Group Ehab Nuhaily said "We started distributing bread to poor families in the areas most in need of urgent relief on a daily basis, after they had abided by government requests to remain at home due coronavirus and have consequently suffered difficult living situations. We were keen to deliver bread to them in their homes to preserve their dignity and safety."

“Since the start of the initiative, 5,000 bundles of bread were distributed per day, and today we have increased the distribution to 8,000 bundles per day. In the future, we hope to receive more support in order to deliver more bread to all the families in need within the area, and to expand our assistance to include food and other essential commodities. Our door is open to any organization willing to cooperate with us, and to anyone who wishes to volunteer or donate,” Nuhaily added.

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Low-income families who are already living on tight budgets cannot afford to stay home without pay. As a result, such families are forced to either accept a higher risk of exposure by attending their day-jobs, or face issues with food-security.

According to Nuhaily, the distribution of bread is in line with the lockdown, as on one hand it ensures a form of food-security to those on minimum wage, which thereby encourages them to stay home, and on the other hand, minimalizes the need for people to leave their homes.

“Food safety practices are implemented during the distribution of the bread, and we have taken the highest health, sterilization, and hygiene standards, including the use of personal protective equipment, in order to ensure the safety of both, the volunteers and the beneficiaries of the initiative,” Nuhaily said.

"Our funding comes from Lebanese families who refuse to witness their people suffer from extreme improvement and destitution after being abandoned by their country’s government and political authorities,” said Secretary of Izdihar NGO Mohamed Abdeen.

“The time has come for all the people of Tripoli to unite set their differences aside in order to conquer this crisis. Food must reach the homes of all people, regardless of their identities, sects, or political affiliations,” Abdeen added.

The Ministry of Social Affairs in Lebanon estimates that 20 percent of the people who suffer from extreme poverty in Lebanon currently live below 4 dollars a day. This number is expected to increase amid the loss of economic activity, accompanied with the previously compounded crises, such as the devaluation Lebanese pound, which are collectively impacting thousands of hourly workers and their families.

For those interested in volunteering or contributing to the initiative that ensures the provision of food in the form of bread to families in Tripoli that are most in need, the associations can be contacted via their Facebook or Instagram pages.

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