Help Rebuild Beirut Climbing Gym After Explosion!
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Help Rebuild Beirut Climbing Gym After Devastating Explosion!
Flyp, our local climbing gym was heavily damaged in the massive explosion that hit Beirut, Lebanon on the 4th of August 2020. It was a second home to a large part of Lebanon’s eclectic and vibrant climbing community where we found stability in a country fraught with political and economical unrest. For the past year people living here have been through a lot; for us climbing has been our refuge, our escape, and most of all a way for us to stay sane.
Flyp stood only 0.8 miles from the epicenter of the explosion which caused carnage over a 6 mile radius. The explosion shook Beirut with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake. Flyp’s neighborhood, Karantina, was one of the most severely hit; many lost their lives, their loved ones, and their homes. Diala – owner of Flyp and mother of three – saw her business and her home, both within a mile from the explosion, turn to rubble within a few seconds. She and her family survived the disastrous event, but like most people in Beirut, it was a close call.
“I want to reopen as soon as possible, not for the business part of it since it has not been profitable at all for the past year, but to tell [the Lebanese corrupt criminal political class who brought the country to its knees] we are here to stay, they can’t shake us, we are not going anywhere.” Though barely breaking even, Diala kept the place up and running both for her employees and for the climbing community.
We want to send a clear message of defiance to the corrupt ruling class that has been hindering all our efforts to build and prosper in our country. Faced today with hyperinflation and a devaluating currency it is impossible for us to rebuild our climbing gym without external financial aid.
Climbers around the world, we need you now more than ever!
We are appealing to the international climbing community who can best understand our need to show resilience and to keep climbing. We want to help bring our dear gym back to life. With unemployment on the rise, it is crucial to get small businesses like Flyp back on their feet. Help us rebuild and give the former employees their jobs back!
You can help us get the word out and raise more funds by:
- Sharing our GoFundMe link on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
- Sharing our post about it on Instagram in your story, tagging your friends and sending it to climbers you follow (GoFundMe,com/f/flyp-beirut-climbing-gym)
- Organizing a fundraiser on Instagram Live
- Contacting/e-mailing professional and non-professional climbers you know and asking them to share with their followers and friends
- Sharing our story at your local climbing gym
- Contacting climbing equipment brands, magazines, stores or any other outlets
- Contacting your local climbing association and asking them to spread the word on their social media platforms and newsletters
This fundraiser is being launched on our behalf by Diala's cousin Mr. Ramzi Sobhani who is a US citizen residing in the state of Virginia. The funds will be deposited in his bank account and then subsequently transferred to a Lebanese account which was specifically created for this campaign at the Arab Bank (Lebanon).
In the hope that we reach our goal, the funds will be disbursed according to the
following estimates:
1- Reconstructing the climbing wall
2- Repairing structural damage and roofing of property OR Moving to another space, [in which case the funds will be used to set up the new property]
3- Covering a three months salary advance for employees
4- Replacing damaged climbing gear, such as ropes, quickdraw, bolts, holds, and crash pads.
We would like to address a huge thank you to each and every one who is able to
help us through these hard times. The support we received so far from our local climbing community has been really heartwarming, we were overwhelmed with the many climbers who came from all over the country to help salvage what remains from the wreckage. Lebanese and foreign climbers abroad who once trained at the gym also reached out to offer their help. This really gave us hope for the future and for that we are deeply grateful.
THANK YOU
Flyp, our local climbing gym was heavily damaged in the massive explosion that hit Beirut, Lebanon on the 4th of August 2020. It was a second home to a large part of Lebanon’s eclectic and vibrant climbing community where we found stability in a country fraught with political and economical unrest. For the past year people living here have been through a lot; for us climbing has been our refuge, our escape, and most of all a way for us to stay sane.
Flyp stood only 0.8 miles from the epicenter of the explosion which caused carnage over a 6 mile radius. The explosion shook Beirut with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake. Flyp’s neighborhood, Karantina, was one of the most severely hit; many lost their lives, their loved ones, and their homes. Diala – owner of Flyp and mother of three – saw her business and her home, both within a mile from the explosion, turn to rubble within a few seconds. She and her family survived the disastrous event, but like most people in Beirut, it was a close call.
“I want to reopen as soon as possible, not for the business part of it since it has not been profitable at all for the past year, but to tell [the Lebanese corrupt criminal political class who brought the country to its knees] we are here to stay, they can’t shake us, we are not going anywhere.” Though barely breaking even, Diala kept the place up and running both for her employees and for the climbing community.
We want to send a clear message of defiance to the corrupt ruling class that has been hindering all our efforts to build and prosper in our country. Faced today with hyperinflation and a devaluating currency it is impossible for us to rebuild our climbing gym without external financial aid.
Climbers around the world, we need you now more than ever!
We are appealing to the international climbing community who can best understand our need to show resilience and to keep climbing. We want to help bring our dear gym back to life. With unemployment on the rise, it is crucial to get small businesses like Flyp back on their feet. Help us rebuild and give the former employees their jobs back!
You can help us get the word out and raise more funds by:
- Sharing our GoFundMe link on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
- Sharing our post about it on Instagram in your story, tagging your friends and sending it to climbers you follow (GoFundMe,com/f/flyp-beirut-climbing-gym)
- Organizing a fundraiser on Instagram Live
- Contacting/e-mailing professional and non-professional climbers you know and asking them to share with their followers and friends
- Sharing our story at your local climbing gym
- Contacting climbing equipment brands, magazines, stores or any other outlets
- Contacting your local climbing association and asking them to spread the word on their social media platforms and newsletters
This fundraiser is being launched on our behalf by Diala's cousin Mr. Ramzi Sobhani who is a US citizen residing in the state of Virginia. The funds will be deposited in his bank account and then subsequently transferred to a Lebanese account which was specifically created for this campaign at the Arab Bank (Lebanon).
In the hope that we reach our goal, the funds will be disbursed according to the
following estimates:
1- Reconstructing the climbing wall
2- Repairing structural damage and roofing of property OR Moving to another space, [in which case the funds will be used to set up the new property]
3- Covering a three months salary advance for employees
4- Replacing damaged climbing gear, such as ropes, quickdraw, bolts, holds, and crash pads.
We would like to address a huge thank you to each and every one who is able to
help us through these hard times. The support we received so far from our local climbing community has been really heartwarming, we were overwhelmed with the many climbers who came from all over the country to help salvage what remains from the wreckage. Lebanese and foreign climbers abroad who once trained at the gym also reached out to offer their help. This really gave us hope for the future and for that we are deeply grateful.
THANK YOU
Organizer
Ramzi Sobhani
Organizer
Tysons Corner, VA