No classes for students, but lots of volunteer work
The ongoing Israeli onslaught on Lebanon might have forced AUB students
out of the classrooms, but that did not leave them on the sidelines
of volunteer efforts. Indeed, the Lebanese Red Cross Youth Department
at AUB jumped right in with AUB's relief volunteer team, focusing
on developing hygiene and children's entertainment programs for those
displaced because of the war.
"If we solve the hygiene problem [in centers for the displaced],
we will solve a lot of the medical problems," said Kamal Berberi,
a fourth year engineering student who is also the Public Relations
officer for the Red Cross youth club. The AUB club is one of five
Red Cross centers in Beirut involved in working on the children's
program.
An estimated 800,000 Lebanese have fled their homes in south and eastern
Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, which have been subjected
to heavy air strikes and bombings by the Israeli army since July 12.
Those who did not have relatives or friends to stay with have been
forced to settle in public schools and universities that are ill-equipped
to receive displaced families. Often times, up to 100 people would
share one bathroom, according to volunteers on the ground. Moreover,
since there is a shortage in cleaning supplies in these centers, hygiene
has been a major concern for public health officials and social workers
alike.
AUB's Public Health Department has warned that cases of scabies, jaundice
and lice have been identified and if measures are not taken to control
them, there is a great risk of an epidemic emerging.
That's why the work that Red Cross student volunteers are doing is
essential. They raise awareness about these hygiene-related diseases
and create children's games and songs that teach the concept of hygiene.
"Both the children and the parents are really happy to see us,"
said Salma Abu Izzeddine, a fourth-year engineering student and acting
president of the Lebanese Red Cross youth department at AUB. "They
need to feel that although it is a public space, they are in charge
of their space and to keep it clean," she added. "They also
need some human contact and to feel someone is following up with them."
The volunteers work in conjunction with the AUB relief volunteer team--which
is composed of doctors, nurses, public health professionals and medical
students--regularly visiting some 12 schools in Beirut that are currently
serving as centers for the displaced.
Volunteers distribute two types of kits, ones meant to be used by
displaced centers and others catering to the personal hygiene needs
of the displaced, explained Izzeddine. The kits include things like
brooms, trash cans, mops, cleaning detergents, soaps and shampoos.
Izzeddine said that a number of companies have donated water and toys,
but that more is needed.
"We need the help of everybody," said Berberi.
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