Carla Chahrour

Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region of the United Arab Emirates and the Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, has instructed the ERC to support orphans who have lost their families in the massive explosion that rocked Beirut on August 4, state news agency WAM has reported.

H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region, and Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, directed the authority to sponsor the orphans and care for the families of the deceased and the victims of the Beirut Port explosion.

— الهلال الأحمر الإماراتي (@emiratesrc) August 10, 2020

The initiative aims to cover all families who lost some members in the explosion by providing them with all their basic needs and rebuild their homes, as part of the UAE’s ongoing relief efforts dedicated to mitigate the effects of the disaster in Lebanon.

“Sheikh Hamdan has been monitoring the situation on the ground since the explosion and its effects on people, and is in constant contact with the ERC’s executive management to follow the progress of relief operations,” said Dr Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, secretary general of the ERC.

The assistance being implemented by the ERC reflects Sheikh Hamdan’s keenness to provide people affected by the disaster with all their requirements, with specific emphasis on the population’s vulnerable categories, most notably orphans, according to Al Falahi.

The ERC is working in coordination with the Humanitarian Aid Office of the UAE Embassy in Beirut to identify the orphans and affected families in order to arrange the current prioritization processes.

The devastating blast, thought to be caused by a stockpile of ammonium nitrate unsafely stored in a port warehouse, left a trail of damage over much of the capital, killed more than 150 people with dozens missing, injured 5,000 and left some 300,000 people homeless.

(WAM)

The UAE has since sent large shipments of aid to Lebanon, including tons of critical medicine, food items, and nutritional supplements for children.

People seeking to provide meaning help in the form of donations directed to the victims of the Beirut Port explosion can also do so through the Emirates Red Crescent relief effort.