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Relief News
Summer 2006, a summer to remember…
Heat, destruction, death, immigration
and…SURVIVAL
This summer our country passed through a tragic and
difficult crisis, and hundreds of thousands of our
Lebanese brothers and sisters and their children suf-
fered due to the barbaric onslaught.
In an effort to help those affected by the tragedy that
has befallen us, the Board of Trustees of the
International College has decided to actively partici-
pate in extending humanitarian aid and has allocated
funds to provide essential aid to those displaced by the
war. Board member Imad Taher and Vice President for
Alumni and Development Moufid Beydoun headed a
committee of volunteers comprised of faculty, staff and
students that was formed to buy, pack and distribute
urgently needed basic supplies. The aid packages con-
sisted of: hygiene products, diapers (babies and elderly), milk (1st and 2nd formula), tap water barrels, children’s underwear,
sponge mattresses and sheets.
These supplies were distributed to displaced families and to various relief centers in collaboration with several non-govern-
mental organizations which participated in the community service program.
This effort resulted in distributing 500 hygiene boxes (each consisting of eight different four-liter items), 900 bags of children’s
diapers (different sizes, with each bag containing an average of 44 diapers), 200 liters of tap water, 197 bags of elderly diapers,
480 tins of 1st formula milk and 235 tins of 2nd formula milk, 560 sponge mattresses, 550 sheets, 396 pieces of underwear (top)
and 222 pieces of underwear (bottom).
But our work is not yet finished; the future plan is to resume the relief efforts by helping other schools and students through the
community service program.
Many thanks to all those who helped, specially to activities and CAS coordinator Riad Chirazi, and God bless our country.
From
Munir Shammaa M.D. ’43,
Clinical Professor of Medicine, American University Medical Center
“One of the main reasons I promptly responded to the request for updates is to tell you what I am doing now, with the hope
that alumni will chip in to help promote this project. When the summer war ended, I started thinking of what I could do to
help the people who were hit badly by the conflict. I developed the idea to launch a project called, “Adopt a Village.” As I
discussed this matter with the secretary of the Department of Medicine, Miss Amal Said, who I knew came from Srifa in South
Lebanon, she said why don’t you adopt my village. Srifa is a town of just 10,000 people with only 1,000 homes. The Israeli
bombing completely destroyed 300 homes and badly damaged 300 others. In one attack alone, about 40 people were killed
and remained buried under the rubble for 26 days. So it was that we decided to go to Srifa and to adopt the village, focusing
our assistance on the medical and educational aspects. I have a wonderful group of volunteers with me who are doing most of
the work. To make a long story short, by my fourth trip to Srifa, we had sent them three truckloads of materials, bought them
two generators and a refrigerator, and assured a steady flow of medications to the village. We are now in the process of provid-
ing them with a complete dental chair, since the one that they had was destroyed during the war. We have also asked several
people to help us in the educational aspect. We finally formed a committee to oversee the project and opened an account, the
“Adopt a Village Fund.” If we secure enough funds, I plan to go to other villages in Lebanon and do the same.
Finally, I want to say that working on this matter is a joy that only those who participate can appreciate. If the AUB ALUMNI
ASSOCIATION can help us in this matter, we will be very grateful.”
Best regards
Munir Shammaa
Clinical Professor of Medicine
American University Medical Center
Volunteers at work