Trapped by War: Help Families in Lebanon

At 19, Janira met Salah, a Syrian boy who, by 13, was selling flowers on the streets of Lebanon to survive. Lacking access to education, Janira decided to create a school for him. She called it 26 Letters. Today, our school supports 450 families with education and humanitarian assistance. Now, with the war reaching Lebanon, their situation has become more dire. Many families are trapped, unable to afford food or shelter, and desperately need help to secure a safer future for their children.

What is the aid used for?

450 familias migrantes, refugiadas y locales en el Líbano

They say numbers numb the heart. But let’s talk about real people—the students we love. In 2017, young Hamoude escaped the horrors of ISIS in Syria. That same year, Aboude and his mother crossed the border by foot, desperate for safety. At 26 Letters, they found a haven. But soon, Lebanon’s revolution and COVID struck. Nine-year-old Dalal was denied hospital care because of her nationality. Aissa, forced to Syria to study, was kidnapped by an armed group at sixteen. He hasn’t studied since. In 2020, Omar’s window shattered in the Beirut blast that killed 218 people. By 2022, Lebanon’s collapse forced Mahmoud’s family into hours-long fuel lines. Nour’s mother hunted for blankets to survive the winter, and Zeinab joined her mother begging on the streets. Now in 2024, bombs hit Beirut. Our school has shifted to meet every need, and now, as war reaches us, we ask our community to help them survive once more.