“I don’t even know how much to thank you. But you stood by my side. I’m starting to cry because we should already be homeless, as the landlord was already changing the lock to keep us out. But thank God you were there to help us.”

Tears of joy well up in Hayat’s eyes as she continues speaking with a smile. “I can cook now; before, I didn’t even have electricity,” says the 29-year-old mother in her video message to the German section of the ISHR. She greets us from Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, with her eleven-month-old son Gabriel on her lap.

Photo: Flamme de Charité

Our partner organisation, Flamme de Charité, assisted her on-site by paying her outstanding rent and procuring the necessary kitchen equipment. Hayat can now refrigerate and freshly prepare meat and vegetables. She and her son have already made further progress in this regard; little Gabriel can be seen in the video with rosy cheeks.

Hayat is now gaining new hope and hopes to return to work soon. “I want to stand on my own feet and one day be able to help others myself,” Hayat says. “We should be repaid a thousand times over” for our help. “Thank you, ISHR”, she says, raising her little son’s hand to wave.

Hayat arrived in Lebanon from Ethiopia in 2018 and confidently took a job as a housekeeper, but was denied a fair wage. Tragically, her husband passed away in the late stages of her pregnancy, and she was left to fend for herself after the painful loss, without access to medical care. She gave birth to her son completely alone in her squalid one-room apartment. Upon learning of her fate, our partner organisation, Flamme de Charité, immediately provided Hayat and her little boy, Gabriel, with medicine and food.

Since its founding in 2020 by the young Lebanese Christian Penelope Boujaoude, Flamme de Charité has supported more than 200 families through difficult times: Many Lebanese have lost their savings, their possessions, and their livelihoods in recent years, whether due to the 2019 financial crisis or the port explosion the following year; the currency crisis also made many everyday necessities suddenly unaffordable. To be able to help, Penelope Boujaoude returned to her homeland after several years living in Europe, with subsidies for housing or medical treatment, vouchers for everyday needs, or funding for education.

Meanwhile, Boujaoude and many of her compatriots in crisis-ridden Lebanon are regaining hope because, after two years of transitional administration in Beirut, there has finally been a regular government again since the spring, which they trust to push forward the urgently needed reforms.

Members of the Christian minority, in particular, are relieved that the government does not include a representative of the Shiite Hezbollah (translated: Party of God). This party and militia act as an extension of the Iranian mullah dictatorship and drew the country back into conflict with Israel starting on October 8, 2023. Despite the ceasefire of November 2024, mutual shelling continues.

“During the fighting, we never knew whether Hezbollah fighters were in the immediate neighbourhood and whether we would be drawn into it. We, as well as some of the families we support, had to temporarily seek safety and leave our homes. Hopefully, that won’t happen again,” Boujaoude said in a video call on May 8, 2025, with the German section of the ISHR.

In this time, between hope for imminent solutions and fear of setbacks, the ISHR would like to further support the courageous and selfless efforts of Flamme de Charité. Penelope Boujaoude and her organisation seek out the most helpless people, those who can expect no outside support. This includes, in particular, the Christians who remain in the country. Please help us with your donation.