The Lebanese community in Mexico, in cooperation with the René Moawad Foundation, contributed to the renovation of the intensive care unit at the Lebanese Geitawi University Hospital, which was damaged by the Beirut Port explosion last August. The donations made by the community, in cooperation with the Lebanese embassy and the Lebanese Center Foundation in Mexico, ‘Fundación Centro Libanes’, are worth $500,000.

A delegation from the René Moawad Foundation toured the hospital, headed by the Foundation’s Chief Executive  Michel Moawad, to inaugurate the renovation work on the intensive care department in its three wards. They met with Director General Dr. Pierre Yared and Sister Hedia Abi Shibli.

Moawad

Moawad affirmed that the intensive care renovation project is, on the one hand, a contribution to rebuilding what had been destroyed in Beirut as a result of the August 4 explosion. On the other hand, it allows the hospital to contribute to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires financial support for the healthcare sector and providing hospital equipment across Lebanon to restore hope in survival, staying on this land, rebuilding what has destroyed, and rebuilding Beirut.

He highlighted that the hospital’s intensive care unit renovation would not have happened had it not been for the efforts made by the Lebanese community to secure an amount of $500,000 under the management of the Lebanese Center Foundation and Lebanon’s Ambassador to Mexico, Sami Nmeir. Moawad is hopeful that this is the beginning of a long-term partnership with the center, noting the Lebanese community’s role in the diaspora, and particularly in Mexico.

He added: “I salute the heroic work carried out by the Lebanese Geitawi Hospital and those in charge of it, who continue to resist difficult conditions, especially after the destruction of the hospital as a result of the explosion. This is the real resistance, Lebanon’s resilience.”

He pointed out that the René Moawad Foundation plays the role of connecting the Lebanese’s need on the one hand, and international institutions and expansion on the other. Over the years, the RMF has built its work on three main pillars in all of Lebanon: trust, professionalism, and transparency.

Dr. Yared

In turn, Dr. Yared thanked the community for the great support during the difficult circumstances for Lebanon, as well as the Lebanese Geitawi Hospital, which was destroyed on August 4 in a matter of seconds. He stressed that the helping hand extended by the Lebanese community in Mexico is an indispensible gesture for the hospital to once again be able to care for patients and operate the intensive care unit.

He added: “With an institution like the René Moawad Foundation overseeing and handling the renovation, I reassure the Lebanese who donated that their contributions have been spent in the right place and at the right time, in order for the historic hospital in Lebanon to survive and provide good healthcare for thousands of patients.”