Nuns shelter 800 refugees from conflict in Lebanon

Sisters helping IDPs in Jabboulé, Lebanon.(Photo: Aid to the Church in Need)

More than 800 refugees fleeing the conflict in Lebanon have been able to find refuge at a convent after the sisters there opened their doors to people uprooted by Israeli bombardments.

"On the first night of the bombing, dozens of people came running to take refuge with us," Mother Joselyne Joumaa, superior general of the the Convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Good Help in Jabboulé, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

"We are overwhelmed, and we can't receive any more."

The congregation runs a school and orphanage in the area, both of which have already been opened up to accommodate the refugees from the northern Beqaa Governorate. Mother Joumaa and the 14 other sisters prepare breakfast and lunch for the refugees each day and ACN is helping with their relief efforts by supplying emergency aid, including food and medicine, to support their relief efforts.

"They come to share with us their anguish and their fear of tomorrow," Mother Joumaa said.

"And we are also listening to them to respond to their material needs, which are many."

The sisters are distributing other basic necessities to IDPs internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as providing a listening ear. They are also trying to maintain some semblance of normality by organising playgroups for displaced children. Many of the refugees are helping the sisters in their work, assisting with tasks like chopping wood for the winter, carrying emergency supplies, and working in the kitchen.

Many of the refugees seek solace in the chapel, praying for peace and calm. However, Mother Joumaa cannot help but be concerned about what the future holds for them.

"Winter is coming. How will we provide heating, electricity, hot water? Thinking about tomorrow can pull us down because the daily tension is sometimes hard to bear," she said.

"But our mission is to continue faithfully, and we ask you to support us with prayer."

However, Mother Joumaa said that the crisis has allowed the sisters to offer a Christian witness to the refugees, many of whom are Muslims. She said many are impressed by their devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, also venerated in Islam, offering a bridge between the two religions.

"When the [displaced] parents themselves, gripped with panic, don't manage to calm their children, it's the Sisters who take them in their arms and assure them that they are safe because they are in the house of God," she said.

ACN has been providing food parcels and medical help for thousands of families over the past few months as conflict in the region continues to escalate. As most schools in Lebanon are private, the charity has also been providing ongoing assistance with tuition fees, and support for pastoral programmes.

As it seeks to continue helping the Church in Lebanon to offer support in this growing crisis, the charity has launched an emergency appeal in order to raise more than £830,000 (€1 million), and is also asking for the prayers of Christians around the globe.