Beirut Compassion Fund - June 2021 Update

A team from The Outreach Foundation (Jack Baca, Julie Burgess, Mark Mueller, Nuhad Tomeh, Marilyn Borst) just returned from a 2-week journey to Lebanon, our first post-pandemic trip. We traveled to encourage our partners there who have been through so much over the past 19 months: a collapse of their government and the economy; the pandemic and its necessary lockdowns; the cataclysmic explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4th which left over 200 dead, 6,500 injured and 300,000 homeless. After the explosion, thanks to our generous donors, we were able to wire funds to the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon within 48 hours and they began handing out food vouchers to residents near the port. Their outreach soon “morphed” to assist families in making repairs to flats and apartments in densely populated neighborhoods within a mile of the port. We were blessed to visit with several of those families….

The brand new door was ajar and awaiting our arrival (the old door had been blown away by the explosion in the port). We caught a glimpse of a picture of Jesus on the wall within and noticed a sign on the door. It announced that tailoring services could be found here, and soon we would meet that tailor/seamstress, Jacqueline, who lived here with her special needs sister, Lodi.

Middle East, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationJune 9, 2021Beirut Compassion Fund, Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut Compassion Fund Update

In the aftermath of the August 4 explosion at the port of Beirut, your generous gifts have helped our partners to, literally, put things back together again in their places of learning like the Near East School of Theology (seminary training Presbyterian pastors), , Blessed School (for autistic children), Philemon Preschool (for low-income kids) and Haigazian University (Armenian Evangelical) which has provided this video update:

Middle EastThe Outreach FoundationJanuary 5, 2021Beirut Compassion Fund

Beirut Compassion Fund - December 2020 Update

In the aftermath of the August 4 explosion at the port of Beirut, your generous gifts have helped our partners to, literally, put things back together again in their places of learning like the Near East School of Theology (seminary training Presbyterian pastors), Haigazian University (Armenian Evangelical), Blessed School (for autistic children) and Philemon Preschool (for low-income kids). Repairs were made in the church sanctuaries of Rabieh Church (Presbyterian) and the National Evangelical Church (Presbyterian/Congregational), within sight of the port. Grants to ministries that serve refugees (Our Lady Dispensary and Together for the Family) provided a lifeline for those who were already living “on the edge.”

Middle East, Partnership, Important NewsThe Outreach FoundationDecember 17, 2020Beirut, Beirut Compassion Fund, Lebanon

Beirut Compassion Fund

In Beirut, on August 4, an explosion at the port rocked the city…we all watched, almost in real-time, as social media captured the cataclysm and it went viral in minutes.

The effect upon a fragile, densely packed city – already reeling from street protests, a collapsed economy, and a pandemic – was stunning:

170 dead
6,000 wounded
300,000 homeless

With ministry partnerships that are both deep and wide, The Outreach Foundation was in touch with our “family” there within hours. Within a day, we had launched the Beirut Compassion fund to raise resources for their recovery as well as their outreach to others, and that very same day, your gifts began to arrive in our office. Within 48 hours, we had made an initial wire of funds.

The Outreach FoundationAugust 25, 2020Beirut, Beirut Compassion Fund

Beirut Compassion Fund

In Beirut, on August 4, at around 6 pm local time, an explosion at the port rocked the city. Within minutes, videos of a huge fire, followed by a deafening “boom” and a massive mushroom cloud--spewing toxins--went viral around the world. Within hours, international news media was capturing the aftermath of destruction and chaos.

Anyone who watched the disaster was horrified by the scale and impact of this cataclysm, playing out a world away, even if they had had no prior connection to Lebanon. Our collective humanity was deeply impacted. But for The Outreach Foundation, what unfolded in Beirut---and continues to unfold --- is deeply “personal” as we have nurtured and been blessed by partnerships there which go deep and wide. (Were it not for the pandemic, we would have had an Outreach team in Lebanon at this moment).

The Outreach FoundationAugust 5, 2020Beirut Compassion Fund, Beirut

Partner Updates