BEIRUT, LEBANON — Samaritan’s Purse DC-8 aircraft left Greensboro, North Carolina, on Friday (August 7) for Beirut, Lebanon, with a 14-member Disaster Assistance Response Team and 26 tons of desperately needed relief supplies. The cargo includes thousands of hygiene kits, solar lights, and hundreds of rolls of heavy-duty tarp material to make emergency repairs to homes and churches.

Beirut’s citizens who are still reeling after a terrible explosion rocked their city on Tuesday evening. The catastrophe killed more than 100 people, injured thousands, and left 300,000 displaced.

Working with a longtime church partner in the area, they will distribute relief supplies and evaluate how they can best serve those who are hurting.

Bev Kauffeldt – Samaritan’s Purse

Hi my name is Bev Kauffeldt. I’m here with Samaritan’s Purse International Relief. As you can see behind me is our DC-8 that we just loaded with emergency tarps. We loaded it also with hygiene kits and power plugs to help the people of Beirut, who’ve been affected by the explosion.

Many of you have seen in the news the magnitude of this explosion which caused damage up to 20 kilometres away from the epicentre. Over 150 people have lost their lives and 5,000 people have been injured. On top of this over 300,000 people have been displaced in Beirut.

We also have an assessment team so we can get on the ground and work with our national church partner there to see how else Samaritan’s Purse can help bring relief after this terrible explosion.

We are also still in the middle of a pandemic with Covid-19. Our team is very aware of that and we are taking the precautions that we need to do the work that God sent us out to do. We really appreciate your prayers for our team, but most of all for the people of Beirut. Thank you very much.

About Samaritan’s Purse International

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

CONTACT: Kaitlyn Lahm, news@samaritan.org

Read more news on Lebanon and the Coronavirus Outbreak on Missions Box.

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