Before the war, Sharifah Ahmed did not expect her home to become a shelter for so many of her family.
A new reality
Today, Sharifah Ahmed is hosting her elderly father, her brother, his wife, and their six children, as well as her own family. Sharifah Ahmed’s loved ones fled their home when the violence escalated, arriving with very little and nowhere else to go. What was meant to be temporary has stretched on, with no clear end in sight.
Across Lebanon, families like Sharifah’s are living through repeated displacement. Many have tried to return home during moments of calm, only to find their houses too damaged to live in.
Sharifah’s brother was one of them.
They went back briefly during a truce, hoping to restart their lives. Instead, they found a house with shattered windows, damage throughout, and no way to stay. His workshop, his only source of income, has also been destroyed.
They left again.
Now, they are all living together in a small space, relying on what they can share between them. Work has stopped. Income has disappeared. The pressure builds each day.
We are suffering, especially with food. The situation is very difficult, and nobody is working. But we have to endure it, because this war is very difficult.
Her father, an elderly man, has also lost his home. Repairs that were made after previous conflict have been undone. Once again, the family is starting from nothing.
This is the reality for hundreds of thousands of families across Lebanon right now – displacement, damage, and uncertainty layered on top of an already fragile situation.
But in the middle of this, support is reaching families like Sharifah’s. Families in Lebanon received food parcels from our team – providing something steady in a time that feels anything but.
For Sharifah, that support has not gone unnoticed.
“Thank you; you were by our side last year, and you have not left us this year either.”
Sharifah still hopes her family will return home. That her brother can rebuild his workshop. That her father can live in peace again.
“We hope that this situation calms down, that they return to their homes, and that they can fix what was lost,” she says.
Until then, families like Sharifah’s continue to need support.
You could help families like Sharifah Ahmed’s by donating. Just $25 helps a family survive.
