As the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 continues to spread across the corners of the globe; governments have not been shy of implementing strict and unprecedented measures to face and curb the spread of this deadly disease. Ranging from stay-at-home means coupled with a curfew as well as quarantine when necessary, such decisions are considered essential in the fight against the virus; however, are not short of backdrops. The weight of quarantine has been mainly prevalent in limited income families as well as daily workers that work to earn their daily bread.
Naturally, the situation in Lebanon was not spared from the deadly virus as the necessary actions taken by the government worsened the current economic and social crisis, with businesses of all sectors coming to all full stop. Such a crisis has no doubt cast its shadow on the most unfortunate of society, namely low-income workers who have unfortunately become unemployed. Amid the crisis, Ajialouna, one of the few non-governmental organizations that kept its resolute and carried on its mission in helping society’s most vulnerable – economically and socially – by providing them with their basic necessities; be it by providing them with food parcels or disinfecting product to shield from the virus.
The organization took speed with the help of several companies and institutions, namely Philip Morris International (PMI) Lebanon, which in their turn, collaborated generously. The company provided 200 boxes of gloves, 200 boxes of face masks, and 400 boxes of hand sanitizers to the association to help protect against the spread of the virus as well as provided help to limited income families who cannot afford these goods by themselves.
For its part, the association distributed these supplies to the most vulnerable groups and families in Lebanon. As a result of this humanitarian initiative from “Philip Morris Lebanon,” more than 200 families have been able to obtain these medical supplies that protect against the Coronavirus and contribute to the curbing of the deadly virus in Lebanon.