“Without Tahaddi’s help and God’s grace, my children wouldn’t have an education, and I might have succumbed to cancer.”

Since the economic crisis in Lebanon began in 2019, families face a daily struggle to get food on the table and are reduced to eating very limited, unhealthy diets.  With the help of Embrace funding, churches in Lebanon have turned to cultivating their own land to produce fresh vegetables that can be distributed.

Meet 13-year-old Noura, a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon. She was unable to attend school because she didn’t have official registration papers - until our partner, the Joint Christian Committee, stepped in.

Walid and his father ended up in Lebanon after being forced to flee from their home in Syria. Life was bleak - until Walid’s father made a surprising discovery.

VIDEO: Meet the children of the 'Best Steps Class', run by Embrace partner Tahaddi, and find out how lessons are adapted to support their special educational needs.

Three-year-old Wasim received a cochlear implant after being diagnosed with profound hearing loss. Since starting speech therapy sessions at the Learning Centre for the Deaf, Wasim’s spoken language skills have been rapidly improving.

When Hagop developed breathing problems, he urgently needed to be admitted to hospital. But Lebanon’s economic crisis and the spiralling cost of medical treatment, meant he couldn’t afford it.

Khadija fears the coming winter: ‘We desperately need blankets and mattresses.’ Life in the Syrian refugee camps in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, is becoming increasingly unbearable.

The crippling economic crisis in Lebanon is having a devastating effect on many families, but particularly refugees. MERATH’s winter relief programme, supported by Embrace, is a lifeline for many, like Nour and her family.