People have access to medicines and psycho-social support.

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (June 2, 2025) Salesian missionaries have been able to provide emergency assistance for people impacted by the war in Lebanon* thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The “Emergency Assistance to Internally Displaced People in Lebanon” project provided aid as well as housing for 100 internally displaced people who escaped villages at the border with Israel and south Beirut.

These individuals were hosted in the public school inside Don Bosco Hossoun’s center. The funding from Salesian Missions helped those displaced settle inside the school premises and be supported through the winter with kitchen equipment, blankets, and warm clothes. Salesians also were able to create a stock of medicines and provide meals, water, medical and psycho-social support, and recreational opportunities for youth.

A Salesian noted, “The funding was essential to helping us provide a safe and secure place for the families who were displaced. It allowed Salesians to provide ongoing support too. While those displaced remained at the Salesian center, staff were able to monitor to provide ongoing social and psychological support and continue to address urgent humanitarian needs, while fostering resilience and hope.”

One of the youth supported was Omar Al-Doweil, aged 6 and from Damascus. In 2024, his family fled Syria on foot, crossing the border into Lebanon in search of a better life in Beirut. The sudden, stressful move profoundly impacted the young child. and the bombings in Lebanon echoed Syria, reinforcing the trauma of displacement. Months passed, and Al-Doweil withdrew from everyone, including his family.

After the war ended in January, Al-Doweil enrolled in Angels of Peace School, which was free and near his home. Many Syrian refugees are barred from attending Lebanese public schools, and private schools remain unaffordable for families like Al-Doweil’s.

The school staff — particularly the psychologist and special education teachers— dedicated themselves to helping the young boy heal.

The Salesian said, “Today, Omar is vibrant and cheerful. He proudly recited the English alphabet to demonstrate his progress in learning a new language. According to Noura, the school’s director, Omar now speaks frequently and even cries when it’s time to go home.”

Lebanon is also dealing with more than 1.5 million refugees who have fled the Syrian civil war, according to the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees. Salesian missionaries have been working in Lebanon since 1952 and currently have two centers. The center in Fidar has Don Bosco Technique and a youth center. The Salesian community in Hossoun has an oratory and a reception house that has been housing Catholic refugees since the start of the war in Syria.

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.

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Contact: media@salesianmissions.org