UAE-based global humanitarian organization The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) announced that it will be allocating $2.3 million to support the reconstruction of the Saint George Hospital University Medical Center (SGHUMC) in Beirut.
The oldest Lebanese hospital, the Saint George Hospital University Medical Center, founded in 1878, stands only 900 meters away from the Port Beirut blast.
After the devastating explosion, the hospital became non-operational for the first time since its establishment 142 years ago.
The Big Heart Foundation located in the Emirate of Sharjah, is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to helping refugees and people in need all around the world.
The project falls under the “Peace for Beirut” initiative, launched by the wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikha Jawaher Bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, who is the President of the Big Heart Foundation and a prominent advocate for refugee children at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
According to Emirate’s News Agency, the reconstruction project started this month and will continue for the upcoming three months. It includes developing the medical center’s infrastructure and providing medical and administrative equipment.
Once complete, the newly built unit at SGHUMC will be named after “The Big Heart Foundation.”
It is expected to increase its capacity to treat 40,000 patients per year, which will allow the non-profit medical institution to expand its outreach and cater to the needs of the neighboring community.
Part of the financial support provided by the “Big Heart” will be devoted to building a new pediatric department in the hospital that includes three patient rooms, a recovery room, and an isolation room.
An isolation unit equipped with the latest medical equipment and the highest international standards will also be provided.
The Director of the Big Heart Foundation, Maryam Al Hammadi, said that the foundation chose to rebuild this hospital in particular “as an appreciation for its historical and social standing.”
“It represents one of the features of the city’s heritage identity, as it began providing free health services nearly 140 years ago to become a haven for those unable to afford treatment costs,” she said, pointing out that the hospital is “an essential landmark of the memory of the city and its residents.”