ARS Eastern Region Donates to Relief Effort in Lebanon
WATERTOWN, Mass.—Through outreach to its 33 chapers and help from sister organizations, the ARS Eastern Regional Board of Directors has announced that it has raised $20,530 in relief aid to Lebanon in the aftermath of the 34-day war against the country.
During the attack on Lebanon, the ARS in Lebanon, known as the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon, participated in refugee relief operations as a member of the Central Body of Relief, which includes a host of Armenian organizations and the Municipality of Bourdj Hammoud, the Armenian part of the capital city of Beirut. During those 34 days, more than 30,000 Lebanese found refuge in Bourdj Hammoud, filling the schools as well as the soccer stadium. Food, blankets, basic utensils and necessities for proper hygiene were distributed to the refugees by the Central Body of Relief. The ARS Araxie Boulghourdjian Socio-Medical Center in Bourdj Hammoud, which usually operates eight hours a day and provides a wide range of medical services, lab tests and medicine to needy people, started to operate 24 hours a day, providing medical assistance to Armenians and non-Armenians alike. Moreover, the ARS established two additional medical outposts, one in the Homenetmen Center in West Beirut and the other in the Armenian village of Ainjar; both outposts operated 24 hours a day.
Even before recent military developments, Lebanon was facing economic hardships, and a considerable number of factories and establishments were closed, leaving their employees jobless. In light of this, the ARS is currently involved in providing Armenian families in need with the basic supplies to sustain themselves until they find employment.
Over the last 96 years, the ARS’s mission has been to help the less fortunate while enriching younger generations, by giving yearly scholarships and helping fund Armenian Schools. The hope is that the younger generations will, by example. take the baton and continue with the ARS’s essential and selfless work.
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