Journey of a motherJourney of a motherJourney of a motherJourney of a mother
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  • Home
  • Who we are
  • How we work
  • What we do
    • Earthquake response
    • Beirut explosion response
    • Covid-19 response
    • Basic needs
    • Education & Child Protection
    • Livelihoods
  • News
    • Blog posts
    • Press review
    • They talk about us
    • Sign up
  • Get involved
    • Pray
    • Donate
    • Raise awareness
    • Contact us
In the bleak mid-winter
March 8, 2019
Helping transition out-of-school children to formal education
March 28, 2019

Journey of a mother

March 21, 2019
Categories
  • Education & protection
  • Meet our partners
Tags
  • child protection
  • education
  • faith-based partners
  • local communities
  • refugees
  • winter assistance

MEET ROULA

“I was living in a nice house with my husband, our newborn son, and two daughters. One day we were told that ISIS was coming to our neighborhood. I left the house immediately with my children. As we were running, snipers started shooting at us. I was holding my son across my chest and my daughters by the hands. My son was hit. The bullet went through his shoulder to his heart… He died before I could take him to the hospital.
I felt very lost and depressed when we arrived in Lebanon. It was snowing and I had to settle in a tent shared with other families. But in all this the MERATH partner church made things easier. They provided me with fuel, mattresses and blankets, and food when we needed it. They also gave my girls dresses and toys and helped them get an education back.
Today I am the mother of five beautiful girls but being responsible for the Little Friendly Space, I feel like a mom to many more! It is an amazing project! 60 children aged two to five years’ old attend the LFS in shifts – learning, singing, playing, and having a chance to be with other children and possibly a completely different future than they might have had without the developmental opportunities they are now accessing at this critical age.
In the beginning I was so afraid and not sure if I could fulfill this trust placed in me – but I was also excited – and then after we started I saw that the children were so happy to be here, I thought, ‘Yes, I am able to do it!’ Now I feel about myself that I am doing something, I have a purpose – I’m responsible for these children.
Now that I feel useful again, I can be a better mother to my daughters. My personality changed and my depression went away. One day I believe I will see my son in heaven, and this is what keeps me going. The church gave me this hope.”

Now that I feel useful again, I can be a better mother to my daughters. My personality changed and my depression went away. One day I believe I will see my son in heaven, and this is what keeps me going. The church gave me this hope.

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Our mission

Through local partners, MERATH implements relief and development projects for thousands of displaced and vulnerable families in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq in the fields of basic needs, education and child protection and livelihoods.

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  • Through Him who gives us strength
    March 1, 2023
  • Quarterly highlights – Q3 2022
    November 2, 2022
  • Winter in the time of Cholera
    November 1, 2022

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agriculture basic needs Beirut explosion child protection COVID19 development education faith-based partners food security health home rehabilitation hygiene internally displaced Iraq Lebanon livelihoods local communities migrant workers prayer focus psychosocial support recovery refugees relief staff care Syria training winter assistance women

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© 2019 MERATH is the relief and community development arm of the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development (LSESD)