MEET THE FAMILIES

GRAZIELLA FEGHALI

Needless to say the Feghali family is a typical victim of the negligence and incompetence of our government. They were successfully running their small convenience store since June 2015. Unfortunately, after the hyperinflation, Graziella found it extremely hard to keep her small convenience store afloat. She could barely resupply and customers who were equally hit by the economic crisis started buying less. She ran behind on rent. The blast made everything worse. Her home, her car and her store all need lots of repairs. Let's help her and her family get back on their feet. The money will towards paying off her debts, repairing her home, the store, the broken glass on her car and giving her and her family a bit extra to survive for the next few months. Helping a small business like that will help the country in general. Let's get them back up and running!

MAR MIKHAEL FAMILIES

Mar Mikhael is one of the most devastated areas. The nine families I will list below live there. They are suffering. They have no other options. Some are really hard workers but with the devaluation of the Lebanese currency their salaries are now about $80 a month. Some are elderly relying on help from donors and some were just living paycheck to paycheck and are now struggling to even get their families enough to eat. 

Lena Lahoud: She looks after her 6 year old traumatized grandson Emilio. He stopped eating after the blast. She got away with broken arm. Her small 1-bedroom apartment is more or less still habitable. 

Georges Andari: Georges is around 75-80 years old. His entire house is destroyed; he now lives at his brothers. 

Wadad Akl: Nothing is left of Wadad's apartment or belongings because the whole building collapsed! She got badly injured needing surgery on her face and hand. Her neighbor unfortunately died under the rubbles.

Pierre Seif: He provides for his elderly mother and his sister. Due to the economic crisis, his salary is now worth 1/10th of what it was. They were struggling back then... imagine now..

Elie Seif: He provides for his brothers' children. His niece (31 years old) got badly injured during the blast: she was sleeping on the couch and got thrown off because of the blast. She had to have 3 surgeries to the head. His house is a total loss and he needs to start from zero.

Anastasia: She’s 85 years old, with no family (her husband passed away). All the windows and doors got destroyed during the blast so it would be great to pay for the repairs and a few months of living because she has no income and had been counting on the generosity of the church and her parish.

Najib Selfani: He takes care of his parents, his uncle and his aunt. His house is in rubbles.

Liliane Helou: Liliane was injured in the head and legs. Her house is totally destroyed; she now lives at her niece’s. Her car got crushed under a collapsed building.

Rita Nahal: Rita and her mom live together. They'd been struggling to make ends meet and the blast just made their daily life almost unbearable. They are hopeful human beings who are grateful for the mere fact of being alive but they need us.

CARL

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He is 10 years old. The eldest of 3 kids. The explosion took away his dreams. Polytrauma patient... Both his eyes are severely injured and has been in the ICU but doing a little bit better every day. His parents are dreading the moment they will have to explain to their son what the future holds for him. That he won't be able to go back to life as he knew it; that his future holds countless hours of rehabilitation and ophthalmological follow-ups. This family who has suddenly plunged into misery needs our help with medical bills, lodging and food.

ELIE DARAZI

Meet the Darazi family. 8 members live in the same small apartment which now has no more windows or doors. In the pictures you can also see Grandma Marie. She is a very hard working seamstress and the glass in her store also got blown off by the explosion. Living paycheck to paycheck her two sons who have 3 kids altogether couldn't afford their own apartment. One is a contractor and the other a cab driver. Marie lost her eyesight and now relies on her sister to do the sewing for her under her guidance. The expenses they are faced with to replace the appliances they lost due to the explosion and to get their apartment back in shape is weighing heavily on their shoulders. The price of food has more than tripled and since the country's economic crisis their paychecks now are not even enough for a week's worth of food and living expenses. Luckily her grandkids' injuries were minimal -Elie shown in picture- which is the most important but the trauma is almost palpable in Elie's kids and the worry apparent in every member of the household. The money they will receive will be used to replace broken appliances, glass windows and doors in their home and grandma's store. We will also give them a bit extra to help them for the next few months until they all find their new beginnings.

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SAVED MOM'S LIFE!!

Ouday and Suzanne Marzeena are from Iraq. He is the doorman of my mom's building. She helps him and they live with their twin girls in a tiny apartment on the ground floor. I would like to collect some money for him to replace the items in his house that were damaged by the blast and pay for the necessary repairs. He is the hardest working person I know and if it wasn't for him, my mom would have either died or been severely injured. He saved my mom and I want to help him by making his space look like a home again. I don't want his girls to constantly be reminded of the traumatizing event that happened in their space. They got thrown off backwards, they saw my mom and other people in the building bleeding. They still cry at the sound of a loud noise-like most kids who lived within a 15 mile radius of the blast. It is a sad situation for kids to be in... Luckily, Ouday did not get injured when the blast happened but he found glass in his scalp, arms and feet. Probably from helping people clean their apartments and moving broken things out. He worked countless hours for 4 days straight before my mom gave him "forced time off". His feet were swollen and his back aching he could barely pick up his 3 year old daughters. I vowed to always help them but union makes strength and together we can help them in a bigger way. They serve others with their hearts. They are kindness personified and unfortunately, like many Iraqis, they lost everything because of the war there. They came to make an honest living in Lebanon. Let's help them on their journey to giving their girls a better future.