“Al-Mabarrat Charitable Association” is keen to fulfil its mission despite the circumstances - it that has formed a close relationship with people over the years. The association is part of them and for them, and the tree of goodness will not be cut off. The association's service work may be slightly affected by the difficult economic conditions in the country, but the insistence on continuing gives greater momentum to setting out again. The care institutions at “Al-Mabarrat” continue, in order to help ease the burden on society and to advance the fields in which it works at the level of the homeland.
The virus has not this year robbed #corona of the blessing of #the_month_of_Ramadan at “Al-Mabarrat”. The institution, which is accustomed to organizing daily iftars annually for its orphans and its needy in all the regions, has kept up its charitable work today as before, with great effort and insistence. With the beginning of the noble month the association launched its new charitable project, “The Orphans' Iftar in Their Homes”, which rests on securing daily iftar meals for the orphans and their families and distributing them to their homes shortly before the time of iftar, according to the available means.
In the kitchen of the Lady Khadija Al-Kubra Mabarra - Airport Road, a team of staff and volunteers is busy preparing the meals from the early hours of the day, and likewise in the kitchens of the institutions distributed across Lebanon. With cooperation and solidarity they prepare a varied iftar meal containing a main dish, fattoush, appetizers and sweets for all the family's members. The project was launched with the support of a group of people of goodness and donors, and covers 4,600 orphan boys and girls cared for by “Al-Mabarrat” at 10 care institutions, whom the coronavirus crisis has caused to remain in their homes, in addition to some 600 people with disabilities and 150 elderly people as well. Those in charge of the kitchen do not neglect their commitment to the preventive and health measures and the continuous sterilization procedures, given the primary responsibility they constitute amid the delicate health situation Lebanon is passing through. The president of “Al-Mabarrat Charitable Association”, Sayyed Ali Fadlallah, keeps affirming, every time we contact him, that “the responsibility falling on “Al-Mabarrat's” shoulders towards the orphans and the social cases it is concerned with means that they must be helped, whether inside the institution or outside it”. Fadlallah begins his talk with “Al-Nahar” with “Praise be to God… people's trust and their goodness are present despite the bad situation, and a segment of them still takes the initiative to do good, even if with smaller sums - and this is a promising attempt”.
The wheel of goodness turns between Beirut, the South, the Bekaa, the North and some villages in Byblos, for the project is not confined to the meals alone; there are other offerings such as financial aid and food parcels. The social services offices belonging to the “Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah Institution”, and thus to “Al-Mabarrat Association”, also carry out their daily work of receiving requests, and their doors are open to providing social and health assistance of all kinds. Here Fadlallah affirms “the keenness to secure food supplies for the beneficiaries at our institutions within our means; as for those with whom direct contact is difficult, we substitute assistance in money, for example”.
Fadlallah does not deny that the crisis has left its mark on the association over the past months, but the firm structure will not be shaken by the first storm. He says that “some of the productive institutions from which the association usually benefits have also been affected. We are trying to get through the stage with the least possible losses, and our basic concern is not to affect negatively, in the near or the distant future, the beneficiaries of our social services and our staff. We are trying with every effort, and there is still goodness among people.”
The attention of “Al-Mabarrat's” administration is focused on continuing the work and finding new fields, whether by strengthening job opportunities at the association or by greater cooperation with people. Fadlallah gives reassurance: “We have no fear of the future, unless matters go outside the normal circle.” He adds: “We are not waiting for anything or for any particular support; rather we trust in the effort of the people who give to the association. Until now we are continuing with what exists, and later we will think of alternatives in emergency cases so as to rise up and not affect any member of staff, or fall short in the right of any orphan or needy person.”
“Al-Mabarrat” did not abandon the orphans during the period of general mobilization; rather it gave wide attention to following them up in every field. The responsibility on its shoulders is not only material and service-related but is also connected to the psychological and cultural frames. As inside the institution, every person responsible for a “care family” communicated with the members of their family daily, attending to their views and listening to their problems, within an integrated care plan in the educational, teaching, cultural and guidance fields.
Over 30 years of charitable work, “Al-Mabarrat” has built a firm relationship with the donors and those who embrace some of the marginalized groups it cares for. At the close of his talk, Fadlallah urges “the Lebanese to turn their attention to the needy and the orphans, who - if there is no institution to attend to them - may become a burden on society”, affirming that “the Lebanese people are a giving people, and we need cooperation with everyone so as to carry out our responsibility towards them; and the state too is concerned to be attentive to them and to place them among its priorities despite the circumstances”.
And in line with its attention to caring for its children, “Al-Mabarrat” has not overlooked the economic conditions of its staff. It is one of the major institutions that did not take the initiative of cutting percentages from its staff's salaries during the crisis, apart from some contractors who did not complete their work - and the decision not to make cuts continues in the coming few months as well.
“Al-Mabarrat Charitable Association” today defies the difficulties of living, in an attempt to establish a dignified life for the various segments of society. It takes the initiative with modest means and digs deep every time it extends a helping hand. The charitable initiatives will not be cut off in the month of goodness.- To contribute to the “Orphans' Iftar in Their Homes” project: 03337537 / 01457045
