Help Us Rebuild St George Hospital in Beirut

We are Hoyas for Lebanon, a group of Georgetown alumni passionate about Lebanon. We are raising funds on behalf of St George Hospital University Medical Center, one of Beirut's major hospitals that was destroyed due to the explosion on August 4th, 2020. We are coordinating with the hospital finance team to make sure that all funds donated go directly to the hospital’s relief and restoration efforts.

[UPDATED - 10/02/20] Thanks to the guidance of the hospital finance team, we have agreed to commit all funds donated to replacing equipment as part of the reconstruction efforts of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), which happens to be one of the only dedicated NICU/PICU wards in the country.

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Dear friends and family,

On August 4th, Beirut was ravaged by an explosion that left over 220 dead, 400 missing, 7,000 injured and 300,000 people displaced. It was the third biggest explosion in a city in recorded history after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

The Saint George Hospital University Medical Center, one of the main hospitals in Beirut, located at the epicenter of the blast, was immediately rendered incapacitated. 160 patients had to be evacuated, 17 patients, visitors and staff lost their lives, and more remain injured.

As things stand today, the hospital is not operational. The Lebanese people cannot afford to lose a hospital as there are still victims of the blast that need tending to, COVID-19 patients that need beds and countless people who need general medical assistance. 

We are a group of Georgetown students and alumni either from or living in Lebanon who are fundraising to rebuild Saint George Hospital.

During our time at Georgetown, we learned the values of community, fighting for social justice, and helping others in need. In light of the global pandemic and Lebanon’s financial and political collapse, the country cannot afford to lose a major hospital.

We are trying to do our part in this massive crisis. All funds will go directly to the hospital’s relief and restoration efforts.

Saint George Hospital is where people enter and leave this earth. It’s a place where lives are saved and healed. It has given life to so many and now it is our turn to bring it back to life.

No amount is too small, even $5 will go a long way. 
Thank you for your time, consideration, and donations.

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A note on transparency:

[UPDATED - 10/02/20] 

100% of the money we raise through GoFundMe will be used to replace equipment as part of the reconstruction effort of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), both of which were heavily damaged during the explosion.

The funds will be deposited into the personal US Bank Account of one of our organizers, after which they will be wired in full to the official Fresh USD Account of St George Hospital in Lebanon listed below:

Audi Bank
Achrafieh Main Branch
Account Number: 00092562-0082
Saint George Hospital – University Medical Center
IBAN: LB85 0056 0000 0000 0009 2562 0082
Swift Code: AUDBLBBX

Details of the reconstruction project, the signed commitment of the hospital and the organizers, as well as receipts of every wire can be found in this public Google Drive folder: 

https://bit.ly/3jr6fdH

Saint George Hospital University Medical Center is a nonprofit academic medical center, owned by the Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut.

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Who are we? 

We are a group of Lebanese Georgetown alumni, or alumni who have moved and made Lebanon our home. Some of us live there and have witnessed firsthand the complete collapse that Lebanon is going through. We are joining forces to raise funds and help rebuild Saint George hospital. We’ve included our contact info below, in case you have any questions.

Rhea Chedid C’13
[email redacted] | +961 81 686 533 for WhatsApp

Stella Peisch C‘14
[email redacted] | +1 (617) [phone redacted] for WhatsApp

Sara Moufarrij SFS‘12
[email redacted] | +1 (202) [phone redacted] for WhatsApp

Mark Jreissaty C’11
[email redacted] | +1 (202) [phone redacted] for WhatsApp

Andrew Jreissaty C’13
[email redacted] | +1 (202) [phone redacted] for WhatsApp

Sabrina Shammas C’19

Patrick Khayat C’11

Elsy Dumit SFS’11

Daria Daniel SFS’14

Naia Daniel C’19

Talia Daniel C’16

Joelle Rebeiz SFS’14

Georges Chedid MSB’12

Robert Chedid MSB'10

Suhayl Chettih C’13

Hijab Shah SFS’11, SSP’16

Julia Yrani SFS'13

Caitlin Nasema Cassidy C'11

Nicholas Shaker C'12

Karim Anchassi MSB’15

Joanna El Khoury SFS'10

Simone Gannage SFS'15

Nora Hajjar SFS'11


Special thanks to...

Nour Jurdi 

Tamer Shaaban

Akram Abou Khalil

Marilyn Zakhour 

Nadia Deghayli

Ramy Kiwan

Jayon Wang & Lama Jamo

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Want to find out more?

Here are some useful links and articles...

Beirut explosion: Hospitals struggle to cope as injured Lebanese walk streets
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/beirut-explosion-medics-rally-after-port-blast 

Damaged Lebanon hospitals treating patients in parking lots after Beirut blasts
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/04/Damaged-Saint-George-hospital-treating-patients-in-park 

Beirut blast: WHO warns dozens of health facilities 'non-functional'
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53758266 

After devastating Beirut explosion, trauma sinks in 
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/devastating-beirut-explosion-trauma-sinks-200815152753890.html

Beirut explosion: What we know so far
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53668493 

St George Hospital Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/saintgeorgehospital 

St George Hospital website
https://www.stgeorgehospital.org/