Snow coated the mountains around the Beqaa Valley and turned the roads into a slippery passage. The cold cut through the streets, where small, fragile houses were scattered across the hillsides. Inside one little shed lived Fadi* and his son, sleeping on two thin mattresses borrowed from their neighbours. Their aluminium roof leaked, soaking the bedding and the few clothes they owned. Electricity barely reached the house, illuminating a single lamp in the small room and leaving most corners in darkness. Inside, the house was colder than the harsh, blowing wind outside. 

On a cold morning in mid-January, Hanna arrived at the home with a fuel heater provided by a local church. As part of its annual winterization assistance project, Thimar’s relief and development ministry, MERATH, supplied the church with the heating equipment to help families like Fadi’s who face such conditions. The initiative focuses on delivering heaters and fuel assistance, blankets, jackets, mattresses, tarps, and other essential items. Thousands of people benefit from the support, including long-time Syrian refugees, families who fled Syria more recently due to the renewed sectarian violence, and vulnerable Lebanese households. 

“We care for people spiritually, physically, and tangibly, according to the support available at our center,” explained Hanna. “Displacement has not stopped. Every day, new families arrive, and meeting their needs is a big challenge.” 

As a team member of the local MERATH-supported church, Hanna regularly delivers such aid to families, while also checking up on others. 

“We are often surprised to see people sleeping on the tiles in winter, some under leaky roofs on wet mattresses,” he said. “Some don’t even have the most basic necessities, like utensils. They left everything behind and arrived here with only the clothes on their backs.” 

Fadi fled Syria because of sectarian violence, leaving his wife and children behind.  

“We came because of the security situation after the fall of the former Assad regime,” he said. “Work opportunities are scarce here. I take any labour I can find, even outside my profession. Some days, we don’t eat because there is no money.” 

In his mid-forties, Fadi looks much older than his age. Years of hardship have taken a visible toll. The cold inside the room, combined with high humidity, penetrates the body. For Fadi and his son, these conditions directly affect their health. 

“I had a heart attack-like episode because of the cold,” he said. “I was at risk of a stroke. They put me on machines in the emergency room and gave me medication.” 

With help from Fadi, Hanna installed the fuel heater provided by MERATH in the family’s small square room, placing it between the mattresses to allow warmth in a space that was otherwise freezing. 

“No one else helps us,” Fadi said. “[The church is] the first to assist us.” 

Fadi worries constantly about his family in Syria, especially his daughters.  

“I am deprived of my children,” he said, crying. “I think about bringing them here, but I don’t have the financial means. And if I bring them into this situation, I will harm them and make them sick, tired, and stressed.” 

A Family from Homs 

Earlier that morning at the church center, another family arrived to pick up aid provided by the church. Like Fadi and his son, they fled sectarian-based violence in Homs and arrived in Lebanon in May 2025. The father, a former car-parts shop owner, recounted with tears how their life was turned upside down. 

“I was living a normal life in our rented home in Homs, and financially we were doing well, until one day heavily armed men came and told me that we must empty the house,” Ali* said. “When I refused, they threatened me with my five children. We left immediately with nothing but the clothes we were wearing, leaving everything behind, and fled here.” 

The journey to Lebanon was anything but easy. The family fled through the wilderness, crossed a river between the two borders, and entered Lebanon through smuggling routes. They settled in the Beqaa Valley, where poverty is widespread, and job opportunities are scarce. 

For this family, living without legal residency makes life even more difficult. Ali now works roughly nine hours a day at a car electrician shop, earning $50 a week. Rent alone costs $150 per month, in addition to other expenses such as water tanks, groceries, and food. Their eldest daughter, 16, works at a nearby supermarket to help bring income into the household. 

Often, the family borrows food and repays it at the end of the week when Ali receives his paycheck. Living in constant fear of exposure and deportation, Ali does not allow his children to leave the house. 

“They don’t go to school,” he said. “They often ask me to show them around Lebanon, but I am afraid.” 

“The church helped us a lot,” Ali added. “They gave us blankets, a monthly food basket, cleaning supplies, and $100 worth of fuel. It came like a gift from heaven during this storm.” 

Sarah and Her Husband 

Later in the afternoon, Hanna and the MERATH team visited a third family living in a deteriorating building. They fled Syria for the same reasons as the previous families, escaping sectarian-based violence. Both are unemployed.  

Sarah* was a ballet instructor in Syria, running several dance centers for children. Last year, her life and career collapsed. Her husband lost all his possessions and his work. They came to Lebanon to find safety. 

“I was pursuing my dream, and my husband supported me throughout,” Sarah said. “He helped with theatre supplies, transportation, and venue bookings. I trained 70 or 80 children at a time. During the war, we made shows across the country. God gave me the talent to work with children with love. It was a shame to have to leave everything behind.” 

In Lebanon, they met Hanna, who visited them in their modest home, providing blankets, fuel assistance, and food parcels. He also introduced them to the church community. 

“He invited us to evening prayers,” Sarah said. “We were psychologically stressed and persecuted by our own country. Our lives changed from where we were to where we are now. I felt distressed because we could no longer help people; now we are the ones who need help.” 

The family, who come from a non-Christian background, chose to attend the prayer meeting seeking relief from the heavy stress they carried. During the service, Sarah said she felt the presence of God for the first time and prayed with deep faith. The family now regularly attends church and has become part of the community. 

“This is the work of mercy that Christ commanded us to do,” Hanna reflected. “When we visit people in their homes, we show them the love of Christ, the love that is missing today on this earth.” 

Ghinwa Akiki is a Communications Coordinator at Thimar.

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