Thanks to the generous donations raised via the Irish Emergency Alliance Gaza / Lebanon Appeal, Plan International provided ready-to-eat food kits, menstrual hygiene kits, and hygiene supplies to displaced families like Amal's in southern Lebanon, offering vital support in their time of need
Amal, a 28-year-old mother from Qalawan village in southern Lebanon, never imagined she would one day be forced to flee her home. Living through the constant threat of distant bombings, she had become accustomed to the sounds of war. However, everything changed on 23 September when the conflict suddenly escalated, and her village came under direct attack. In a panic, she grabbed only a few items of clothing for her 18-month-old son and fled with her husband and baby in tow.
“I wasn’t prepared,” she says. “My husband told me to pack the child’s clothes because we were evacuating. But I wasn’t mentally ready. I was afraid to go upstairs to gather clothes for fear that a rocket would hit the house while we were packing. My son uses a nebuliser, but I didn't think to bring it.”
Their journey to safety took a harrowing 13 hours by car, the family witnessing the horrors of war firsthand.
“On the way to Jiyeh was even more terrifying, like in a horror film,” says Amal. “Air strikes were falling like rain beside us, and you could see the car windows shattering. At one point a car on the other side of the road was hit and turned over in front of us. You could see the cars next to us filled with crying children, you could see the fear in the eyes of every adult.”
Now, Amal and her family reside in a collective shelter set up in a school in Mount Lebanon. Sharing a small classroom with 14 other people, from four separate families, two of whom they didn’t know, they had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor with only the clothes they arrived in, struggling to adjust to their new, uncertain life.
“As a woman, it’s difficult not to have a private space,” she says. “Imagine sleeping in the same room with strangers, with no barriers between us. It’s hard to feel safe here."
Amal also faces practical challenges, particularly as a veiled woman. "There is only one bathroom for the whole floor, and it’s hard to find time or space to take a proper shower. My hair is even starting to fall out from the stress."
In the midst of this chaos, Plan International stepped in to offer crucial aid. Through the Irish Emergency Alliance Gaza / Lebanon Appeal, Amal's family received ready-to-eat food kits, menstrual hygiene kits, and hygiene supplies to help meet their immediate basic needs.
Since October 2023, Plan International has been delivering humanitarian assistance to displaced children and families impacted by the ongoing conflict, reaching over 28,000 people with food, hygiene kits, baby supplies, mattresses, and other vital items. This support is a lifeline for families like Amal's, who are desperately in need of assistance.
Despite the challenges, Amal expresses gratitude for the support she’s received from Plan International. "They gave us mattresses, pillows, and blankets, which are a relief. I am thankful for the baby kits with nappies and the menstrual hygiene kits—they are really important."
But we need more warm blankets. My child needs milk, which is very expensive right now, and his nebulizer needs Ventolin.”
"Any help you can give means so much to us," Amal says, her voice full of gratitude amid the hardship. "I’m grateful for the support we’ve received, but there is still so much more we need."
