The world is not disregarding the Beirut blast’s impact on the city and its citizens. With hundreds of victims and thousands of injured and now-homeless people, the world is trying to find ways to end this catastrophe.
And Facebook has been significantly helpful, in various ways.
At the blast, it prompted to activate its Safety Check feature to allow people in Lebanon to reassure their FB friends and family members around the world of their safety.
A Facebook Crisis Page has been detrimental in providing peer2peer (direct) information and requests for assistance, including shelter for those who lost their homes, victims search, and blood donation.
Fundraising efforts are also seen through Facebook for the victims, and Facebook has stepped in to match one of them with $500,000.
Facebook took a big step further, raising its matching fund to over $1.6 million to help Lebanon’s hospitals and NGOs with the relief and recovery efforts of the Lebanese.
We are working with hospitals and local partners to facilitate local access to a blood donation tool that allows donors to find centres near them that need assistance and support affected local newsrooms.
Ramez Shehadeh, Facebook’s CEO , MENA Region.
The Managing Director of Facebook Middle East And North Africa (MENA), Ramez Shehadi, issued in a statement:
“In support of the vital work that organizations and individuals are doing on the ground in Beirut, we are donating more than $1.6 million to local hospitals, medical institutions, and NGOs to support relief and recovery efforts, $500k of which has been matched by our community as part of a Facebook fundraiser.”
