Second Week Projects
August 30th, 2006Sample Application: A Funeral in Zebqine
Imm Abbas held a funeral last Sunday. We were invited to attend, even though we did not know her or the bereaved personally. Upon receiving us in her modest abode, Imm Abbas’s daughter asked if we wanted to see pictures of the bereaved. Framed, colored photograph-portraits were brought out and displayed, engulfing the surviving family members. The imbalance was pitiful: three members alive to mourn, twelve only present in photographs. Zebqine was the first village bombed by Israelis on July 13. The night of July 12th, Imm Abbas’s son had moved his children and wife from their home on the outskirts of the village to a relative’s home closer to the center, to avoid Israeli fire. The family would leave to Beirut the next morning. The motor of their jeep was warming in the driveway when the Israeli plane dropped its bomb. The three-story apartment-come-refuge was instantly flattened, killing 12 of the 13 people inside. The force of the blast sent their jeep sailing into the field below. In a village of 230 homes, 109, or nearly half, were either completely destroyed or seriously damaged. Out of a population of 2200 persons, only 500 are currently resident in Zebqine, though another 500 spend their days there and leave at night to sleep in shelters elsewhere. Over the past week, we have been able to bring five tanks of non-potable water for cleaning purposes, medications for chronic and urgent care to help in rebuilding the municipality clinic, and a generator to provide electricity to one neighborhood which was not connected to the other extant generators. Towards our goal of investing in the local economy, we bought $900 worth of garments from one clothing factory owned by a village resident to use for clothing rations in other areas.
Cost of Zebqine Project:
- $630 for five tanks for holding water (spent locally)
- $600 for rental of one generator for one month (spent locally)
- $300 for medicines
- 22 x baby’s milk boxes at $5/each: $110 (but donated by CRTD)
- 16 x diaper packs at $5/each: $80 (but donated by CRTD)
- $900 for clothing to be distributed in other villages hit by Israeli fire
- TOTAL: $2430, plus donated material; of which $2130 spent locally
Sample Application: Playing & Story-telling in Silaa
Last week Silaa’s parents did not feel ready yet for their children to gather in one area and forget about their troubles in play. Already this Sunday, however, their mood had changed. The Maqassed School was swept of shrapnel and covered with bright rugs to host our 1.5 hour-long program of activities for children between 4-10. In one room Samah Idriss, children’s author read his stories Al-Mawza and Al-Koussa for 8-10 year-olds and 5-7 year-olds respectively. In another room Maha Issa led children in exploring self-expression in drawing and modelling clay. In yet another room, Malak Khaled read stories for the tiniest visitors, under age 5. Building blocks were also available to the children. Out on the playground, Abed Zahzah refereed a rowdy game of soccer, which so thrilled the older children that they chose to forego their snack of cookies. In all, about 60 children participated. Come sunset, they were unwilling to leave until we promised a return visit for the following week.
Cost of Children’s Activities:
- Books: $20
- Modeling clay: $6
- Colored pencils: $14
- Paper: $10
- Soccer balls: $10
- Building blocks: $10
- Cookies: $10
- TOTAL: $80
Sample Application: Al-Qantara
Our bags of clothing and toy donations were delivered by going door-to-door in al-Qantara, a village that hosted saw intense fighting between Israeli soldiers and Lebanese fighters. One bag could not be delivered on Saturday, August 26, however, because the recipient, Mr. Hassan Saghir, had been kidnapped a few days before at an improvised Israeli checkpoint on the road leading out of the village. Israeli soldiers have not yet completely departed from al-Qantara, but villagers are determined to reclaim their homes, and this is what our work seeks to make possible. Twenty-five homes were completely destroyed in al-Qantara, and a further fifty suffered significant damage. On Sunday we delivered 115 food kits (see below). We, also, installed a water pump for the municipality’s use. The situation in al-Qantara is very tense. Only half the village has been able to return to their homes, and their ability to stay is severely compromised by the continuing presence of Israeli troops in the field around their village. Until the Israelis withdraw, the Lebanese army is unwilling to enter and clear the village of unexploded cluster bombs and missiles. Awaiting their entry, we have made an appointment with Dr. Shafiq Fuani from Nabatieh (originally of Houla) to visit the village next Sunday, Sept. 6.
Cost of Al-Qantara Project:
- $460 for water pump (spent locally)
- 20 x $10: $200 for food rations (bought in neighboring Al-Shahabiyeh, from merchant Ali Kren)
- 18 x $15: $270 for clothing (partially spent locally, partially donated by families in Beirut)
- TOTAL: $930, of which $580 spent locally
Sample Application: Houla
Fida’ Shreim, a 36 year-old nurse at AUB, grew up in Houla, a town only a few hundred meters from the Israeli border, and in some places even closer. Until 2000, whenever Fida’ and her family wanted to travel out of the area they had to apply for permission from the occupying Israeli forces. At 14, Fida’ had to leave home and move in with some of her older siblings in Tyre in order to pursue her studies. She could return home to visit her parnens only with permission from Israel, and she was prevented from studying for one full year because Israelis denied her permission to return to Tyre. Two of her elder sisters were held for several years in Khiam prison. Since the July war, Israelis have again occupied area around the town of Houla, commandeering a house on a strategic hill, and setting up spontaneous checkpoints after sunset, from which they have kidnapped a few local residents who were set free only days later. Fida’ reutrned home for the first time since the war on August 19, bringing us as guests to her home, which had its kitchen torn off and upper rooms badly damaged. On August 26, we returned with Fida’ to Houla. This time a doctor, Shafiq Fuani, native to the town but currently residing in Nabatieh accompanied us. He and Fida saw over 100 patients: 15 suffered from diarrhoea, 9 from ear infections, 2 from allergies, 2 from unexplained fever, and one infant from pneumonia. Seventy-nine villagers came to have prescriptions for chronic ailments such as high blood pressure filled.
While Fida’ and Dr. Fuani met with villagers seeking medical care, another team distributed 38 rations of food and clothing (see below) to the families whose homes have been destroyed in Houla. The resident of one is a seven year-old boy named Ali Qassem who lost his mother, Hala, mid-way through Israel’s war on Lebanon. She had the left the house early one morning to feed her herd in the adjacent barn. A few minutes later a rocket was fired into the barn from the Israeli post on the hill across the way. It is unknown whether Ali’s mother died on impact, but blackened walls and lack of other damage to the barn structure indicates that she may have been burnt alive. Israeli snipers kept anyone from reaching her body for eight days. When asked if he missed his mother, Ali refused to cry. His strength and self-control brought tears to our eyes. We listened to him respond in a quiet, shy voice as he struggled to explain his sadness and his fear. “At night, I miss my mother a lot.”
Cost of Houla Project:
- $460 for water pump (spent locally)
- 38 x $10: $380 for food rations (bought in neighboring Al-Shahabiyeh, from merchant Ali Kren)
- 38 x $15: $570 for clothing (bought in Zebqine)
- 56 x baby’s milk boxes at $5/each: $280
- 56 x diaper packs at $5/each: $280
- TOTAL: $1490, of which $1040 spent locally
Donation Kits ($10):
Food:
- Rice 1 kilo;
- Sugar 1 kilo;
- Pasta 500 grams;
- Corn oil 1 kilo;
- Tuna, 2 cans;
- Processed cheese, 2 12-portion boxes;
- Corned beef, 1 can;
- Bread, 1 bag;
- Dried beans, 1 kilo;
- Dried lentils, 1 kilo;
- Dried chick-peas, 1 kilo;
- Tea, 500 grams;
- Powdered milk, 1 kilo;
- Chocolate spread, 1 jar;
- Sardines, 1 can;
- 7 candles
Clothing ($15 - $20):
For women:
pants and shirt or long house dress, underwear, and hygienic pads;
For men:
pants, shirt, and underwear; for children, shorts and shirt and underwear
Hygiene Kits ($10):
Dettol 1 k, 2 tissue boxes, shampoo, 2 bars of soap, toothpaste and brush
Toy Packets ($4):
Crayons, modelling clay, soap bubbles, and either a doll, a ball, a pair of rackets, a puzzle, or a car, all held in a hand-sewn personalized bag
Upcoming Village Solidarity Work for which we are asking your help:
As each village takes about two days for us to assess and address needs, we have started to probe the possibility of doing solidarity work in several other villages already, provided funds can be generated to procure supplies for them. They are Blida and Baflay in the district of Tyre. We estimate that fulfilling each village’s needs requires about $2500, most of which can be spent locally to boost the month-long crippled local economy.
Unlike most organizations currently active in the South, our project surpasses immediate relief. This means returning each week to Silaa, al-Qantara, Zebqine, and Houla. In each of these villages, we are seeking ways to stimulate nation-wide embrace of all Lebanese as equally dignified and deserving inhabitants, to rekindle the local economy, to link schools in areas affected by Israeli aggression to sister-schools in other parts of Lebanon, to provide emotional and intellectual stimulation for children who have endured war, and to foster local civilian resistance through cultural events and symposiums. Some of the applications to reach these goals that we are currently considering or already undertaking are listed below:
- Lunch in Silaa, Sunday, 9/6 ($650):
Following the tradition that each sibling takes on responsibility at the funeral of providing one lunch for the mourners, we are assuming the role of siblings and have arranged with an area restaurant to prepare a lunch for ~250 people, to be served in Silaa village. - Children’s activities in Silaa, Saturday, 9/5 ($150):
With equipment for more physical activities. - Ovens (tannour) for Houla, Zebqine, and Jmeijmeh ($32 x 10: $320)
- Two more villages according to the sample applications ($5000)
We would appreciate any donations of money or kind. For sending money from abroad, please send it to the attention of:
Abdelrahman Al-Zahzah
via the NGO Platform Sidon
First National Bank, SAL, Sidon Branch, #0017-128374-002 USB.
Account holder: Hamatto and/or Cheaib, NGO Platform Sidon.
Swift code: SINKLBBE.
Please send an e-mail notifying us of your donation to:
Abed Zahzah: abdelrahman.zahzah@dargroup.com
Samah Idriss & Kirsten Scheid: kidriss@cyberia.net.lb
For your records, we would be happy to supply you with receipts from merchants and affidavits of donation from village mayors.
