Caritas Lebanon (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: , French: ) is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Lebanese

nonprofit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

, established in 1976. It is the official aid organisation of the Catholic Church in Lebanon and implements social welfare services and provides

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

. It is one of the best-known and largest NGOs in the country and a member of

Caritas Internationalis Caritas Internationalis (Latin for ) is a confederation of 162 national Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The name Caritas Internationalis refers to both the ...

and Caritas MONA.

Background

Caritas Lebanon's predecessor was established in 1972 by Elie Mamery, a Lebanese

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

in the south of the country. The initial activities included distribution of primary care items, such as medicines and clothes to families in need in the bordering villages. In the following years, the organisation opened social centres, medical centres and mobile clinics, which became even more important with the outbreak of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

(1975–1990) and the displacement of people it provoked. In 1976, the organisation took its current name and the bishops and patriarchs of the Catholic Church in Lebanon formally recognized Caritas as the socio-pastoral organ of the Church in Lebanon. Caritas Lebanon's network of 60 health and social centres spans across a large part of the country, providing services to both the local population and refugees alike. In addition, its mobile clinics travel up and down the country, especially in rural areas. Since the 1990s, Caritas Lebanon has also specialised on supporting migrants and advocating for migrant rights within Lebanon. The Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center (CLMC) assists thousands of migrants every year through services such as psychosocial support, counselling, social assistance, medical aid, legal aid, training, and shelter. Following the

Lebanese liquidity crisis The Lebanese liquidity crisis is an ongoing financial crisis affecting Lebanon, that became fully apparent in August 2019, and was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon (which began in February 2020), the 2020 Beirut port ex ...

and the subsequent economic downturn, there has been a significant rise in the number of individuals seeking assistance from Caritas.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Charities based in Lebanon Social justice organizations Human rights organisations based in Lebanon Organizations established in 1976 1976 establishments in Lebanon Catholic Church in Lebanon

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...