About 8 miles north of Beirut sits Dbayeh camp, a Palestinian refugee camp with a majority-Christian population. The Little Sisters of Nazareth and the camp’s Joint Christian Committee, both funded by CNEWA-Pontifical Mission, are active in distributing humanitarian aid and living in solidarity with the camp’s population.
“Thanks to Pontifical Mission, we live here. Pontifical Mission is helping us a lot,” said Sister Magdalena Smet, P.S.N., who has been living at Dbayeh since 1987. “We share in the lives of the refugees according to the spirituality of St. Charles de Foucauld.”
The primary challenges for the refugees are the education of children, medical care and proper nutrition, Sister Magda explained.
“We were facing several difficulties in the camp, even before the war. Now, the burden has increased mainly on those who are hosting displaced families,” said Elias Habib, director of the Joint Christian Committee.
“It’s our duty to welcome them; we won’t leave people on the street,” he said.
Learn more about the work of the Little Sisters of Nazareth and the Joint Christian Committee at Dbayeh in this video. Then, read “At an Impasse,” in the December 2024 edition of ONE magazine.