More than 800 refugees fleeing the conflict in Lebanon have been in a position to find refuge at a convent after the sisters there opened their doors to people uprooted by Israeli bombardments.
“On the primary night of the bombing, dozens of individuals got here running to take refuge with us,” Mother Joselyne Joumaa, superior general of the the Convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Good Help in Jabboulé, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
“We are overwhelmed, and we will not receive any more.”
The congregation runs a faculty and orphanage in the world, each of which have already been opened as much as accommodate the refugees from the northern Beqaa Governorate. Mother Joumaa and the 14 other sisters prepare breakfast and lunch for the refugees every day and ACN helps with their relief efforts by supplying emergency aid, including food and medicine, to support their relief efforts.
“They come to share with us their anguish and their fear of tomorrow,” Mother Joumaa said.
“And we’re also listening to them to answer their material needs, that are many.”
The sisters are distributing other basic necessities to IDPs internally displaced individuals (IDPs), in addition to providing a listening ear. They are also trying to keep up some semblance of normality by organising playgroups for displaced children. Many of the refugees are helping the sisters of their work, assisting with tasks like chopping wood for the winter, carrying emergency supplies, and dealing within the kitchen.
Many of the refugees seek solace within the chapel, praying for peace and calm. However, Mother Joumaa cannot help but be concerned about what the long run holds for them.
“Winter is coming. How will we offer heating, electricity, hot water? Thinking about tomorrow can pull us down since the each day tension is typically hard to bear,” she said.
“But our mission is to proceed faithfully, and we ask you to support us with prayer.”
However, Mother Joumaa said that the crisis has allowed the sisters to supply a Christian witness to the refugees, lots of whom are Muslims. She said many are impressed by their devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, also venerated in Islam, offering a bridge between the 2 religions.
“When the [displaced] parents themselves, gripped with panic, don’t manage to calm their children, it is the Sisters who take them of their arms and assure them that they’re protected because they’re in the home of God,” she said.
ACN has been providing food parcels and medical help for 1000’s of families over the past few months as conflict within the region continues to escalate. As most colleges in Lebanon are private, the charity has also been providing ongoing assistance with tuition fees, and support for pastoral programmes.
As it seeks to proceed helping the Church in Lebanon to supply support on this growing crisis, the charity has launched an emergency appeal with a purpose to raise greater than £830,000 (€1 million), and can also be asking for the prayers of Christians across the globe.
