Exclusive photos and report from Phil Good in Beirut, Lebanon. Phil and his wife Sylvie work with the Church Mission Society (CMS) and the evangelical Resurrection Church there.
‘Resurrection Church Beirut (RCB) has raised funds and undertaken to repair 100 homes that have been damaged. Counselling support is ongoing and will be needed for many months to come; the repercussions of this event will reach a long way into the future and the church is preparing for the long haul. After the news fades, so many people will need to rebuild their lives, and rebuilding lives is what the church knows about.
‘There has been a great outpouring of food support from across the world helping everyone, not just the victims of the blast. As I have spent two years living and working with the poorest people of East Beirut, I am really grateful. Some families are now receiving a meal every day from different agencies who have at last got enough food to feed everyone on their books. This is not co-ordinated, so some people are not benefitting, but it is a lot better than before the blast. But of course some of the people who were better off do not have the skills required to negotiate this minefield of entitlement and handouts and they are in no way prepared for this awful situation, but thankfully there is more food on the streets than victims.’
