Syria Earthquake Grassroots Response

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We at Syrian Eyes are heartbroken after seeing the severe damage and suffering of our fellow Syrians in the country and in Turkey following Monday’s double earthquake.

Many of us have been outside of the country for years now and remain connected to our homeland and the suffering of our people, regardless of political affiliations.

Syrian Eyes is establishing a campaign and calling for donations to the victims of the earthquake.

As of now (07.02.2023), the double earthquakes have claimed over 5000 lives and have left millions of locals and internally displaced people (IDPs) without a roof over their heads in the dead of winter during a region-wide winter storm. Syrian Eyes has been carrying out emergency relief campaigns since 2013 always finding the gaps of where aid is not being directed to. We are coordinating with trusted civil society organizations in the chosen areas and will be coordinating goods and money with them directly.

Cash donations are preferred as it is best to buy materials from the people affected by the crisis and we are also collecting items that are more rare in places like rural Syria. We will be collecting money through our online fundraising campaign but will also be accepting cash donations in person as well. Please contact (+961 81 959 370) if you would like to give in person. We are going to be transporting all possible physical donations in person and therefore need donations of small items or urgent care items that do not take up a lot of space such as:

• First aid medicine, especially for cuts and wounds, and pain killers
• Medical equipment
• Face masks
• Small winter clothing items such as hats, scarves, gloves
• Children’s winter clothing
• Rain boots, rain protection clothing equipment (not umbrellas)
• Clean up equipment such as tools, hard hats, work gloves, (think of small items used during the Beirut blast)
• Small items helpful for the cold

Financial donations will be used to support local civil society organizations in their work to provide medical assistance, housing support as well as any financial coverage in regards to providing emergency support for heating materials.

Disclaimer: Any material donations that cannot be sent will be redirected to our relief work in the Bekaa valley with Syrian refugees in the informal tent settlements and with partners on the ground. If you would like to donate other items for these areas we are happy to distribute them in the Bekaa valley where currently most Syrian refugees in these settlements also suffer from the consequences of the on-going region-wide winter storms.

Members of our team will be traveling to Syria in person to deliver the collected cash and material donation to local civil society partners on the ground and reporting on the situation.

As always, we are grateful for being able to rely on your trust and support of our work as a volunteer initiative that has been able to operate based on principles of humanitarianism, non-discrimination and flexibility in regards to fast-pacing and urgent relief efforts.

Syrian Eyes - 10 Years of Experience, 10 Years of Trust

Syrian Eyes is a local initiative in Lebanon of volunteers that was founded ten years ago by local activists and Syrians that relocated to Beirut following the escalation of violence in Syria.

The team has since been working continuously in several informal refugee settlements in the Beqaa Valley providing constant humanitarian support for those in need as well as implementing projects and activities with children, women, and youth to build capacity and raise awareness.

In ten years, Syrian Eyes’ ingredient of success has been its flexibility and independent work due to being an initiative of volunteers with diverse backgrounds working together in their free time to provide aid and support when needed.

Following the turbulent year of 2020 it is clear that Syrian Eyes' approach is successful due to the ability to reach out to the most marginalized, hidden communities that have been overlooked by the international NGOs.

Original Photo by AFP