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London-based Lebanese non-profit at forefront of Beirut fundraising
by arabnews.com -- TAREK ALI AHMAD -- LONDON: As soon as the haunting images of the immense orange cloud filling Beirut’s late-afternoon sky and the terrifying videos of the explosion began circulating, UK-based non-profit Impact Lebanon took the initiative. With an initial goal of raising £20,000 for disaster relief in medical and nutritional aid, the group has since raised more than £6 million — with a target of £7.5 million now set — after enormous worldwide support for what officials describe as a humanitarian disaster. “We’re raising the funds, primarily from the diaspora and the international community in order to help support the work of the local NGOs on the ground,” Impact Lebanon co-founder Diana Abbas told Arab News. Following the Aug. 4 blast that rocked the capital, Lebanese citizens and residents — both in and outside of the country — immediately mobilized to help after it was evident that the government was not doing so. “We’re doing a vetting process to figure out which NGOs that we need to send money to, and the vetting process involves checking all local NGOs registered, making sure they’re non-sectarian and apolitical,” Abbas said, adding that among these NGOs are the Lebanese Red Cross, Arc En Ciel and Beit El Baraka. The blast, largely blamed on government negligence that left 2,750 tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate stored in a portside warehouse in Beirut for six years, has left at least 180 dead and thousands more injured. More than 300,000 people have lost their homes, while 2,096 restaurants were destroyed. |