When Zreifa, her husband and their six sons travelled from Syria to Lebanon, they did so in fear of their lives, but also because they hoped Lebanon would be a better place for them to bring up their sons.
When Islamic Relief started working with them, they were living in a tent in a refugee camp and had not eaten any meat since leaving Syria.
When Islamic Relief gave a Qurbani meat pack to Zreifa last year, she said: “We have been in Lebanon since Ramadan 2014. My husband cannot work because he is a refugee, so we don’t have any source of income.
“When we were in Syria before the crisis, we used to eat meat every month, because meat is cheap in Syria and my husband was working, so we had money to buy meat. Here in Lebanon we are unable to buy meat because we don’t have money and the meat in Lebanon is very expensive. It is very difficult because we don’t have money to buy any food.
“Your Ramadan food pack was the first time we’d eaten meat since we left Syria, and this will be the second. The meat is important for my children, because they need the nutrition. They are growing up and are always hungry.”
Zreifa told us how she and her family used to celebrate Eid.
“We used to enjoy Eid,” she said. “We made sweets and went shopping for clothes and toys for the children, and we would go and visit our relatives. Eid meant joy, but here in Lebanon Eid isn’t the same, the kids don’t have any new clothes, and there are no toys.”
As well as supporting Zreifa and her family with seasonal giving, Islamic Relief has provided them with a hygiene kit and support last winter.
The 35-year-old added: “I have six boys and they always need to eat, we live in a tent, we don’t have a source of clean water in this camp, and my sons are not attending school. The people in this camp always talk about the good work Islamic Relief is doing. I want to ask Islamic Relief to always support the people who need it.”
There are currently 1.114 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, which has a population of 4.467 million. Last year, we reached Lebanese, Syrian refugee, and Palestinian refugee families.
Give your Qurbani through Islamic Relief and help us make Eid a happier time for people who are going through difficult times.
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