Appeal
Lebanon
LEBANON HUMANITARIAN CRISIS - MELB61 (Final revision)
Total Appeal Target: US$ 8,058,028
Balance Requested from ACT Alliance: US$ 714,696 (towards Christian Aid component only)
Geneva, 2 August 2007
The ACT Alliance responded to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli military operation against Lebanon, following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Starting July 12, and for 34 days, the Israeli military operations targeted all regions of Lebanon focusing on the South of Lebanon and the Southern Suburbs of Beirut, amongst the poorest regions in Lebanon. 1,287 persons were killed, 4,054 injured and 1,200,000 uprooted, thousands of houses, shops and other constructions severely damaged or destroyed, basic services and infrastructure and the agriculture sector severely affected.
The ACT Alliance responded to the humanitarian crisis in various steps. An alert was issued on 17 July 2006, followed by a Rapid Response on 19 July. On 27 July 2006 an ACT preliminary appeal, comprising the ACT/Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), was issued. A complete ACT appeal followed on 13 September 2006 with a revision of the MECC proposal, including food and non food, health and psychosocial assistance, as well as, in cooperation with the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), water and sanitation activities. This appeal also included the proposal of the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) to provide non food assistance, develop immediate economic recovery activities and rebuild schools and water systems. The appeal was revised on 14 November 2006 to include the proposal of Christian Aid (CAID) which proposed to support communities through livelihood rehabilitation projects.
ACT Coordination support was completed on 31 January 2006. Following the recommendation of the CAT mission, an ACT Coordinator, an ACT Finance Officer were sent to Beirut for a four months mission. The ACT Coordination team supported both MECC in the implementation and administration of the appeal, and the whole ACT alliance members in the coordination of their activities in Lebanon. An ACT Communicator, seconded from PDA for a month, reported personal stories who were published on the ACT International website. In addition, in August/September 2006 a psycho-social assessment team led by the Church of Sweden assessed psycho-social needs of the population and set-up a program which was included in the MECC/ICNDR intervention.
The ACT Coordination Team strongly recommended that an independent evaluation be conducted to assess the results and the impact of the ACT members' response.
The present revision is done to include the evaluation component in the appeal as recommended. To this effect, a budget of 31,700 US$ has been included and an equal amount of funds from the current available funding has been reserved. The evaluation process which is conducted by evaluation consultants, one international and one local was started on the 18 June and is to be completed before the 31 July 2007. The final report will be submitted to the ACT Coordinating office by 31 July 2007.
Project Completion Date:
CAID: October 2006 - October 2007
IOCC: October 2006 - April 2007 (completed)
MECC/ICNDR: August 2006 - mid-March 2007 (completed)
MECC/ICNDR/NCA: August 2006 - January 2007 (completed)
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FOR THE FULL TEXT OF THE APPEAL (öDF FILE), KINDLY VISIT THE ACT SITE. THANK YOU.
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Please kindly send your contributions to either of the following ACT bank accounts:
US dollar
Acount Number - 240-432629.60A
IBAN No: CH46 0024 0240 4326 2960A
Euro
Euro Bank Account Number - 240-432629.50Z
IBAN No: CH84 0024 0240 4326 2950Z
Account Name: ACT - Action by Churches Together
UBS AG
8, rue du Rhône
P.O. Box 2600
1211 Geneva 4, SWITZERLAND
Swift address: UBSW CHZH12A
Please also inform the Finance Officer Jessie Kgoroeadira (jkg@act-intl.org) and the Programme Officer Michael Zschiegner (mzs@act-intl.org) of all pledges/contributions and transfers, including funds sent direct to the implementers, now that the Pledge Form is no longer attached to the Appeal.
We would appreciate being informed of any intent to submit applications for EU, USAID and/or other back donor funding and the subsequent results. We thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.
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ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
