In-kind parcels relieve parents.

The circumstances in Lebanon are unordinary. The struggles parents are going through add extra burden on people who thought the war was the most harrowing experience they would ever go through. The distress of the lack of food is still hunting them years after the war ended.

The economic crisis revived horrible memories for parents who went and are still going through the difficulty of storing food.

In partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), World Vision Lebanon (WVL) assists vulnerable families by providing in-kind food packages. From November 2020 till May 2021, WVL aims to reach 44,280 vulnerable Lebanese individuals (8,856 households) affected by the economic and COVID-19 crises in Lebanon and residing in Akkar, north of Lebanon.

Lina, 40, mother to six children, worries daily on how to feed her children. "It is hard, especially with a big family and prices that are constantly rising," she says. With six children out of school, Lina finds herself hopeless when it comes to their future, "their life is passing by without education, and we cannot do anything because of the economic situation." Thanks to the food parcels distributed by World Vision, now Lina can rest her mind when it comes to feeding her little ones, "I am relieved from a significant concern now. Those parcels could not come at better times," Lina says.

For Abdallah, 40, the parcels came at a very critical time as well. With his little girl Lamar, seven, suffering from a severe health condition, the packages helped a father who can barely keep up with Lamar's dialysis sessions medical bills. "I could not be more thankful. The kids were not eating properly anymore because I am not working, so we had to rely on whatever we can get," he says.

"I can't afford remote learning. I am risking their future, but what other choice do we have? My husband is unemployed, and the situation is getting worse" Dalal, mother of Walid, 12, and Ali, seven. Because of the economic situation, Dalal could not afford to enroll her boys in remote learning. "At times, you feel hopeless, but thanks to these distributions, I feel that there is still hope," she says.

Radwan, 49, father of three children, and previously a proud owner of a small shop in Akkar, never imagined his life would take such a drastic change, “I used to provide more than enough for my family, but with this economic situation we can barely buy anything,” he says. Radwan had to close his shop due to the challenges he faced and work occasionally as a driver for poultry, “It is the first time ever that I receive any sort of in-kind, and I am already relieved from the stress of providing food,” he says.

“Thanks to the white hands,” is what Nour, 53, answers when asked about how she was able to manage to provide food for her family of nine. Two years ago her husband lost his job, “the situation is hard now, and it is harder when your child asks for something you can’t provide,” she says. With this help, Nour and her family will have enough food to eat and ease their minds for a while.