Feeding Overlooked Families in Lebanon
Lebanon has remained a site of deadly attacks ever since the Middle East crisis escalated earlier this year, and civilians are paying the price. Many families from southern Lebanon in particular are displaced and in urgent need.
In response, Peace Winds is working with local partner organizations to provide emergency food assistance to the most vulnerable families living outside formal shelters in South Lebanon Governorate.
Following ceasefire announcements, some residents have begun returning to the south, but many displaced families remain unable to go home. In the hardest-hit areas, more than 80 percent of local markets have closed. Living costs are also climbing, making it increasingly difficult to secure enough food for daily meals. Although some aid is available, much of it is concentrated in shelters and border areas. This means that those who continue to live in their damaged homes or in privately rented housing are less able to access support, despite often having lost their livelihoods.
To reach these overlooked families, Peace Winds is working closely with local authorities, community representatives, churches, and humanitarian organizations to distribute food. Last month, we delivered food packages, each containing roughly one month of supplies, in Tyre and Saida–two cities in the southwest. Each package included grains, legumes, canned fish, cooking oil, tomato paste, salt, and sugar. Preparations for distributions in additional areas are underway.
Our staff have heard firsthand accounts from people struggling to rebuild their lives under extreme challenges. Among them is Noor (a pseudonym), from the small southern village of Al-Marwaniyah.
Before the crisis, Noor worked as a clerk and lived peacefully with her husband and children. However, the attacks partially damaged her home and completely destroyed her daughter’s. Seeking safety, the family fled to Aabra, near Saida, where they rented a small two-room apartment. Seven people now share the space: Noor, her husband, their two children, their married daughter and her husband, and their grandchild.
The cost of rent has become a heavy burden. Where displaced families have gathered, prices have surged to nearly three times the usual rate. With their income gone and their savings almost exhausted, even basic needs are difficult to meet.
Health problems have also deepened their difficulties. Noor’s husband has cancer and cardiovascular disease and requires regular medications and treatments, while Noor herself depends on medication to manage the severe pain of a herniated disc.
“I sincerely hope that medical assistance will reach us, just as food assistance has. In the current crisis, even obtaining medicine is difficult, and prices have risen to unbelievable levels.”
Without regular assistance, the distribution from Peace Winds was only the second time the family had received food aid since relocating to Aabra.
“Receiving food assistance means we can use the money we would otherwise spend on food to pay our rent and cover my husband’s medication. In these uncertain times, it has given us a little breathing room.”
For those forced to flee, hardship does not end when they leave home. They endure harsh living conditions and the uncertainty of when, or whether, they will be able to return. Peace Winds remains committed to listening to those affected and delivering assistance that protects lives. With your support, we can continue to stand alongside vulnerable families in southern Lebanon.