Stories of families and individuals

The House of Christmas provides support to families in need across the country through our established network of social helpers, partner charities and local councils. We personally meet and develop a close relationship with each family, ensuring we can provide the necessary emotional and material support for their wellbeing. Here are some highlight stories of amazing people we have reached out to.

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Mohammad’s Story

Mohammad was accidentally hit by a stray bullet in his back while on his work duty on an electric pole in Beb el Debbane. The injury left him paraplegic, unable to walk, work and sustain his parents. His only hope of improving and avoiding further complications to his condition, was through intensive physiotherapy. HOC funded his physiotherapy sessions for a whole year, and followed up closely on his improvements, in addition to supporting his family with basic needs.

Elie’s Story

We met Elie, a young man in his early twenties who was suffering from cerebral palsy, and living in the poverty of a single room with his parents. What struck us in Elie was the extremely damaged condition of his denture, preventing him from eating solid food, and leading to bouts of excruciating teeth pain during the night, leading to sleepless nights since years. While Cerebral Palsy is a condition with no cure, we decided to fund a complex oral surgical procedure under general anesthesia to help relief his dental suffering, improving his quality of life and gifting him peaceful nights. The surgery was a success, contributing to his and his family’s wellbeing.

Lena’s Story

Life was hard and an uphill battle for Lena, living in Furn El Chebbak alone with barely any means of supporting herself. We met her following a traumatizing event, where she lost her leg to diabetes. In an attempt to ease her mental and physical ailment, HOC contributed to covering the full expenses of an advanced leg prosthesis. Lena today completed her rehabilitation and is able to walk again and lead a normal and active life.

The Beydoun Family’s Story

HOC met the Beydoun family while visiting families in Nabaa area in collaboration with local social workers. While the head of the family worked as a car mechanic, the family lives on the edge, in a house furnished with a small bed for the 2 adults and 3 children. HOC furnished the house with a bunk bed, a living room and chairs. We also intervened in a period where there was no income, and covered the children’s tuition and apartment rent.

Clara’s Story

This is the story of Clara, a courageous mother of 2, who was found homeless in the streets of Jounieh, and the Scouts of Lebanon decided they wanted to help her. Darb El Sama organization took her in charge and put a roof on her head. We were contacted to support a teeth prosthesis after she had to remove all her teeth. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with cancer, to which we covered the treatment. We regularly support her with food boxes and rent payment, and recently bought a laptop to her son, that was needed for schooling.

Patrick’s Story

Patrick was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a disease that progressively takes away one’s control over his muscles, and has no cure. By the age of 27, Patrick has given up on his aspirations to teach children, and could only enjoy the pleasures of an occasional outdoor walk, hanging on the back of his older brother. The only way for him to maintain his limited mobility is through daily physiotherapy sessions. HOC contributed to his fight for mobility, by covering the costs of physiotherapy and rehabilitation sessions for 3 complete months. HOC remains in touch and is following up on his progress.

George’s Story

We met George in the midst of the Covid 19 crisis; a taxi driver living in Burj Hammoud and struggling to support his two children, having lost all of his income during the pandemic. George has never asked anyone for help before, and relied on his wife’s work as a teacher to survive to see better days. Few days before we met him, his wife got diagnosed with breast cancer, and his whole world collapsed: The family income would stop completely and he would not be able to cover the expenses of his wife’s treatment. HOC intervened and supported with paying the rent for 3 months, covering all payments related to the cancer treatment, in addition to providing monthly food supplies. HOC is monitoring the progress of the cancer treatment and the family.

The Jawhari Family’s Story

The Jawhari family was one of numerous households we visited during our field day in the old Saida neighborhood to provide food and medication support to local residents. While the area is notorious for its poverty and badly maintained houses, their house was posing a direct risk on its inhabitants: A family of 8 members crouching in a single room, as the roof was literally falling apart in the second room. HOC decided to rebuild the damaged roof in partnership with local contractors and provided the necessary assessment, materials and building works. Since then, the family experienced a doubling of the livable surface area inside the house and a better quality of life.