OSMTH International Humanitarian Relief Donations
Program for Beirut and Lebanon
Simon Le Fevre
OSMTH Almoner General
Over the last six months OSMTH has developed a response to:
- the disastrous explosion which devastated the port and city centre of Beirut on 4 August 2020; and to
- the circumstances of the underlying political and social tensions in Lebanon.
Owing to the COVID-19 quarantine requirements and the restrictions on travel imposed by national governments around the world, the physical meetings of the OSMTH Grand Magistral Council planned for Spring and Autumn/Fall 2020 were necessarily cancelled. The OSMTH Magisterium therefore proposed to re-allocate the travel budget which had been set aside for those GMC meetings. Following a vote via email, the OSMTH Grand Magistral Council accordingly agreed to allocate 10,000 Euros (approximately 11,800 US Dollars) for an OSMTH International Humanitarian Relief Donations Program with a particular emphasis on alleviating the impacts of these events on the Christian communities and on the general population in Lebanon by means of:
- support for repairs and restoration, including places of worship and/or learning;
- provision of clean water and/or electricity generating capacity; and
- facilitation of internal peace-building and community cohesion initiatives.
This International Humanitarian Relief Donations Program is aligned with the second Purpose set out in the International Statutes of OSMTH, which is:
- “To encourage and promote Christian humanitarian work and charity generally, but especially in support of people in the Middle East”.
The remaining two recipient organisations are highlighted in the following sections:
Maronite Archdiocese of Beirut
 OSMTH acknowledges, and gives great thanks for, the historic role that the Maronite Church has played in Lebanon and the Church’s continuing influence for good in Lebanese society today.
OSMTH also greatly values the work of the volunteers of the 4-hope charitable foundation in their projects to repair and restore the homes of the local communities in Beirut.
OSMTH has agreed with 4-hope that our 5,000 Euros donation will be used in the following ways:
- the majority of the donation to be used for the repairs and restoration of houses and apartments in the Maronite Christian community in Beirut; and
- a small part of the donations - up to 500 Euros - to be used to plan and prepare 4-hope’s future electricity generation project.
We are most grateful to the Maronite Archdiocese of Beirut for receiving OSMTH’s donation and thereby facilitating the efforts of the 4-hope volunteers.
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