Analysis report by Gaelle Nohra, Staff Writer

September 26th, 2020

Recent national occurrences were nothing but another proof of the strength and cohesion of local NGOs who succeeded in asserting their crucial presence during unprecedented settings as pillars of peace and sustainability. This piece will offer an overview of Caritas Lebanon’s services in addition to a brief guide through past and recent Caritas Youth’s work on the grounds. 

Caritas Internationalis Historical Overview

Named after the Latin terminology meaning charity, Caritas stands amongst the largest international aid and development agencies, assisting underprivileged communities with their ceaseless fight against poverty, injustice, and natural and human-made disasters.

Lorenz Werthmann, Roman Catholic priest from Geisenheim, initiated the first Caritas Organization in Freiburg, Germany 1897, which paved the way for similar assemblies to arise and get aggregated to Caritas Catholica in 1928, through the regular conference of the national Roman Catholic Social Welfare Organization. In 1947, Caritas Catholica was assigned as the Vatican official relief organization and granted global recognition as Caritas Internationalis in 1954[i]. Today, the intercontinental NGO is a confederation of over 160 members with a path in over 200 territories. 

Caritas assistance per region varies with respect to the targeted area’s ever-changing economic, demographic, natural, and social status. In simpler terms, need is the orienting element whereby the allocation of resources meets optimal efficiency and equity levels. 

Caritas Lebanon

In line with the non-discrimination, transparency, and visibility values of Caritas Internationalis, Caritas Lebanon adheres to a similar framework while providing community-based services through 36 regional sectors, 10 primary health care centers, 9 mobile medical units, 5 shelters, 4 community shelters and 4 humanitarian centers[ii], spread all over the national territory. Since mid-1970s, health care, crisis response, migration services, advocacy, and countless other lines of services are part of the daily-done tasks by Caritas, by which the organization, whose beneficiaries approximate 300000, strives to ensure long-term development for marginalized and disadvantaged groups. 

Locally, recent endeavors exerted by Caritas were the ‘End Kafala’ awareness campaign[iii] launched on June 15 2020, which highlighted the hazardous physical and legal conditions under which migrant workers live, in addition to the 6-months program signed with the UNDP, intending to help vulnerable communities better cope with the Lebanese economic downturn through a targeted support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises[iv].

Youth Volunteers: Activities and Framework

Among the integral divisions of Caritas Lebanon stands the youth department consisting of 936 volunteers gathered from all over the 10452 km² and working altogether under the headlines of service, sacrifice and commitment.

Activities managed, coordinated, and implemented by the youth range from homes and prisons rehabilitation, to recreational activities and summer camps for children, to continuous provision of healthy meals to in-need individuals. Volunteers also plan visits to living-alone elderly on a regular basis to help erase their feeling of loneliness. 

Engaging in such activities requires psychological readiness and behavioral delicateness considering the critical conditions of the groups Caritas directs the help towards. Therefore, trainings and workshops are part of the youth preparedness schedule where volunteers get the opportunity to enhance their communication, leadership, and teamwork skills. Furthermore, Caritas Youth contributes to the organization of major national events such as the Beirut Marathon and other environmental and cleaning events. 

One of the biggest activities entertained by almost all national sectors is the lent campaign, taking place yearly during the Easter fasting period and where youth and volunteers go to the Charity Checkpoints and institutions of their residing area to collect donations.

As an investment of the large set of skills present within volunteers, Caritas Lebanon youth recently launched a social enterprise, funded by Caritas Italiana, known as the In-House Printing. The project consists of producing customized items such as trophies, stamps, gadgets, pins, caps, and hoodies using vinyl printing and 3D printing in addition to laser cutting and engraving. A percentage of the proceeds will serve as a small income for designing volunteers, whereas all the rest will be funding the humanitarian and social youth activities.

Youth Response to the Beirut Blast 

As soon as the August 4th tragedy supervened, Caritas Youth stepped in with medical first aid assistance to the most injured, in addition to providing shelters for those whose residences were severely destroyed and can’t be inhabited in the near term. 

In the following days, different support tents were held in Achrafieh and Gemmayzé where food boxes, hot meals, hygiene boxes, and medicines were continuously supplied. A wide range of health services such as psychological first aid and consultation were also at the disposal of mentally affected individuals, in order to better help them deal with the traumatic effects of the blast and mitigate its long-term psychological repercussions. The youth equally engaged in cleaning streets and houses so that people get safely back to their residences.

As part of the managerial and logistical assistance, the Caritas Call Center was immediately set in motion after the explosion to ensure maintained efficiency while allocating all of the humanitarian, monetary and material resources. Five hotlines were consequently launched, which can be listed as follow: three Beneficiary hotlines where people place their different requests for food, house equipment, detergents, aluminium, glass or even shelters, one donation hotline and another one for volunteering (further details regarding hotlines can be found at the end of the article).

The Beirut Blast already secured a seat in the non-ending list of worries of the Lebanese community. Although the tragedy revived a sense of patriotism, its agonizing characteristic will hardly fade away. As for the youth, the experience definitely added to their Caritas journey.

 “One hour after the blast, we went down the streets and witnessed the horrific scene in Beirut. 

On our way, we were receiving lots of phone calls but weren’t able to understand the seriousness of the damages until we arrived. What’s harder is that sometimes and after numerous non-stop working days, we were still coincidentally meeting elders left alone in their destroyed houses, without food, water, or medicine. Now, I believe these weren’t mere coincidences, but rather a push for us to proceed with our mission.” – Teresa Sarkis, Koura Sector 

“Following the blast, we were on the grounds for almost 24/7. It was tough, but the love of giving kept us going. I once met a woman in Gemmayzé who started yelling at me, expressing her anger from the situation. I couldn’t help but tell her ‘basita’, I was out of words. But then, I noticed a hidden hope in her eyes and I remembered the words of Mother Teresa de Calcutta, do small things with great love”-Caline Mechaalany, Upper Matn Sector

“We were already going through difficult times in Lebanon, but the explosion blew everyone up. Being able to act and do something about it helps both those who do the work and those who receive it. Although it was hard, it was a very enriching experience that will forever be engraved in my memory” – Dona Chlela, Litoral Matn Sector

“Life is a theater, full of secrets, mysteries and unbelievable tragedies… I never understood this saying before my engagement in Caritas and specifically before the Beirut Blast. The past month, I spent over four weeks in the Caritas call center and with each story I heard, I had tears in the eyes. I helped people I never thought I was able to help and I realized that life is indeed a theater.”- Charbel Chamoun, Upper Matn Sector

“It was 6:07 when the explosion hit and I was one of the first Caritas Youth who made it to Beirut. The greatest lesson I learned was to appreciate and recognize the worth of my life. Some people lost in one second”. – Charly Khalil, Keserwan Sector

A word from volunteers, present and alumni 

“Ever since I joined Caritas, my opinion concerning daily stuff changed. I used to go to university without having any worry about my future, my needs were all fulfilled. But when I confronted people in my age, deprived from their basic rights and forced to set aside their academic career due to financial shortages, I started understanding that life has given me so much and I shall give in return.” -  Paul Saadeh, Zgharta Sector

“At first, I wasn’t excited to join Caritas. Seven years later, I can say it changed my whole life order. It taught me how to love and give without expecting anything in return, and most importantly how to help from the bottom of my heart. It impacted my life in the most positive way by teaching me a sense of responsibility. I truly believe Caritas deserves the title of a ‘school’, a school of love.” – Jose Bridi, Beirut Sector

“Caritas was a cornerstone in building up my personality. It made me grow in love and knowledge, and most importantly it made me realize how beautiful humanity can be” – Christina Rouhana, Upper Shouf  Sector

“In school, I was always told to help the poor, I didn’t know where I could find them in the first place. But when I joined Caritas, which was almost 12 years ago, I felt I accomplished one of my tiny dreams even if it was through holding a small donation box. People used to ask me if I ever get bored, but the thing is, Caritas helped me reveal my humanitarian identity and my hidden potentials. I was a shy person, and yet I became a team leader. I learned how to overcome my egoism and weaknesses by helping others succeed, and even become more successful than I am.” – Roula Mouawad, Baabda Sector 

“Caritas is a life-changing experience that grows in you a love for serving others. Through my involvement in Caritas for more than 5 years, I lived the best moments of my life, and I still hold the values I learned even few thousand miles away from my home Caritas” – Theresea Yazbeck, Upper Shouf Sector

 “When I first joined Caritas, I thought it was only about helping people. Then I realized it was also about helping myself. Providing people that lost everything with emotional support taught me and my team how to deal with any incident that may occur with us in the future. Hopefully not” – Johnny Najem, Saida Sector

As a volunteer, my Caritas journey has exposed me to a great realization. We tend to believe that whoever is giving the other enjoys a more privileged status, whether it be financial or moral, which isn’t always an erroneous statement yet also not a rule. We don’t give because we have more, but because we chose to invest our inexhaustible and innate gift of sensitivity. We are humans, we feel others, their pain, their needs, and their shortages. On forward, the turning point would be the means we follow while dealing with that gift, and volunteering consists of keeping it alive.

Caritas Hotline Info:

Beneficiary Hotlines +96179179003, +96179178967 and +96179173085

Donations Hotline +96179182477

Volunteering Hotline +79182581

[i] History, https://www.caritas.org/who-we-are/history/#:~:text=It%20all%20started%20with%20just,development%20agencies%20in%20the%20world.

[ii] http://caritas.org.lb/where_we_serve

[iii] Caritas Launches a Campaign to End Kafala, http://caritas.org.lb/events/1-f86d4c94-0c0d-4ee3-9722-8b70ae076115

[iv] UNDP Signs a New Project with Caritas Lebanon, http://caritas.org.lb/events/1-2c35bf01-b63f-4b00-9c15-bb8620c02eb0