Religious sisters shelter hundreds fleeing fighting in Lebanon

Religious Sisters in war-torn Lebanon have transformed their convent into a refuge for more than 800 people fleeing the ongoing bombardment, providing much-needed help.

The airstrikes on villages in northern Beqaa Governorate have forced hundreds of people to seek refuge in the Convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Good Help in Jabboulé, according to Mother Joselyne Joumaa, superior general of the congregation.

Mother Joumaa told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): “On the first night of the bombing, dozens of people came running to take refuge with us.”

She added: “In 12 days, we received more than 800 refugees. We are overwhelmed, and we can’t receive any more.”

The congregation runs a school and orphanage, which the Sisters have also opened up to offer accommodation for IDPs (internally displaced persons).

ACN has supplied emergency aid – including food and medicine – to support the relief efforts.

Mother Joumaa said that she and 14 other Sisters prepare breakfast and lunch, and distribute other basic necessities to IDPs, as well as providing a listening ear.

She added: “They come to share with us their anguish and their fear of tomorrow and we are also listening to them to respond to their material needs, which are many.”

She explained that the congregation also organises playgroups for displaced children, seeking to give them a semblance of normality.

She added that many of the IDPs are assisting the Sisters with the essential daily tasks, such as chopping wood for the winter, carrying emergency supplies and helping out in the kitchen.

Mother Joumaa highlighted that some of the IDPs have asked the Sisters if they could spend some time in their chapel, yearning for peace and calm.

She said: “Winter is coming. How will we provide heating, electricity, hot water?

“Thinking about tomorrow can pull us down because the daily tension is sometimes hard to bear.

“But our mission is to continue faithfully, and we ask you to support us with prayer.”

She said that the Sisters’ serenity and joy – even in the midst of the ongoing conflict – never ceases to amaze the displaced Muslims staying at the convent.

She added that the Sisters’ love and humble service often reminds them of the Blessed Virgin Mary – who is also venerated in Islam – thus creating a bridge between the two religions.

Mother Joumaa explained: “When the [displaced] parents themselves, gripped with panic, don’t manage to calm their children, it’s the Sisters who take them in their arms and assure them that they are safe because they are in the house of God.”

In the past months, ACN aid has included food parcels and medical help for thousands of families, as well as ongoing assistance with tuition fees – because most schools in Lebanon are private – and support for pastoral programmes.

The charity has launched an emergency appeal to raise more than £830,000 (€1 million) to be able to continue helping the Church in Lebanon in its efforts to cope with the increasing crisis.

(Photo courtesy of Aid to the Church in Need)

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