Lebanon (MNN) — Extreme hunger is the next crisis on Lebanon’s horizon. Thirty-seven percent of Lebanese and Syrian refugee children don’t get enough to eat every day. That number will rise to 42 percent in the first quarter of 2023 unless something changes.
Healthy snacks at Horizons International’s School of Hope help take the edge off child hunger. With 140 needy children enrolled, Horizons wants to reach even more in 2023.
“We’re bursting at the seams in our Beirut building, and there are so many more kids that we would love to educate,” Executive Director Pierre Houssney says.
(Photo courtesy of Horizons International)
Horizons began School of Hope to provide Syrian refugee children with an education. In previous years, these kids could not attend regular school in Lebanon. However, due to Lebanon’s financial crisis, much of “the public school system is privatized,” Houssney says.
“Anyone who has a privately-owned building could have a school in it. They can get a public school license and receive funds from the government to run a public school, but it’s still a private business.”
Today, “we have opportunities to take over schools that are going bankrupt,” Houssney says.
“A lot of these public schools are going out of business because the money coming from the government is in local currency, which has crashed.”
Some facilities already have a Gospel-centric program in place. For example, “there is a missionary-run school in the north of Lebanon that is going to shut down this coming summer if we don’t intervene,” Houssney describes.
Others will become Christ-centered Schools of Hope if the Lord wills.
“At this point, we have the human resources side lined up; we have local believers willing and qualified to teach. It’s just securing the location and setting things up,” Houssney says.
Pray about it, and ask the Lord if He wants you to get involved. Dozens of students need sponsors. Find your place in the story here.
In the header image, Syrian refugee students pose for a photo during snack time. (Photo courtesy of Horizons International)
