Beirut Recovery Fund - Schellen Family
Donation protected
My parents, Thomas and Hermine Schellen, have been living in Beirut, Lebanon for 23 years and dedicated their lives to serving this nation as missionaries and peacemakers. My brother and I grew up there and consider it our home.
On Tuesday, August 4th, at 6:07 PM local time, tragedy struck and a huge explosion tore through our beloved Beirut. Many lives were lost, and hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged, including my parents' apartment. Windows and doors shattered and glass and other objects flew around the room. Miraculously, my parents were protected and not hurt by any of the flying debris.
In the days that followed, as people searched for survivors and treated the wounded, amazing young people went to the worst-hit areas and volunteered to clean up the streets and even help people clear debris out of their homes. I'm personally so grateful for all the kind volunteers that helped my parents carry heavy items out, remove dangerous glass shards, and even fixed their front door!
However, they will need windows and doors as well as some furniture replaced, and many families are in a similar situation. Friends of mine here in the US have expressed a desire to offer their support, which is why I decided to create this fundraiser. My parents would like to use the donations received to help pay for house repairs for severely affected families in the community that they know personally, through their many years of serving people through the Universal Peace Federation Lebanon.
My plan is to collect the funds on their behalf, since it is much simpler than trying to connect this fundraiser to their Lebanese bank account, and then transfer it all in one lump sum to have the lowest transaction cost possible.
Thank you all so much for your support, and please keep my parents and all the people of Lebanon in your prayers!
Below are a couple photos of the damage to my childhood home, and a picture of some volunteers who took all the broken window and door frames out of the neighboring apartments.
On Tuesday, August 4th, at 6:07 PM local time, tragedy struck and a huge explosion tore through our beloved Beirut. Many lives were lost, and hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged, including my parents' apartment. Windows and doors shattered and glass and other objects flew around the room. Miraculously, my parents were protected and not hurt by any of the flying debris.
In the days that followed, as people searched for survivors and treated the wounded, amazing young people went to the worst-hit areas and volunteered to clean up the streets and even help people clear debris out of their homes. I'm personally so grateful for all the kind volunteers that helped my parents carry heavy items out, remove dangerous glass shards, and even fixed their front door!
However, they will need windows and doors as well as some furniture replaced, and many families are in a similar situation. Friends of mine here in the US have expressed a desire to offer their support, which is why I decided to create this fundraiser. My parents would like to use the donations received to help pay for house repairs for severely affected families in the community that they know personally, through their many years of serving people through the Universal Peace Federation Lebanon.
My plan is to collect the funds on their behalf, since it is much simpler than trying to connect this fundraiser to their Lebanese bank account, and then transfer it all in one lump sum to have the lowest transaction cost possible.
Thank you all so much for your support, and please keep my parents and all the people of Lebanon in your prayers!
Below are a couple photos of the damage to my childhood home, and a picture of some volunteers who took all the broken window and door frames out of the neighboring apartments.
Organizer
Natascha Schellen
Organizer
Charlottesville, VA