On Tuesday, a massive blast wave in Beirut, Lebanon's capital, killed at least 135 people and wounded 5,000 others.
The impact of the devastating explosion is ongoing: More than 300,000 people's homes were damaged in the explosion, and hundreds have been reported missing, which people fear could raise the death count. The president has called for a two-week state of emergency.
The explosion's exact cause is currently undetermined, but Lebanese officials are pointing to the storage of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive fertilizer, which was kept without safety precautions in the port of Beirut for years. Investigators are looking into possible negligence concerning the ammonium nitrate's storage. There's evidence that Lebanese officials knew about the danger, yet failed to properly act.
Now, anger with the ruling elite in Lebanon is boiling over into calls for revolution.
Even before the blast, economic collapse, due to decades of mismanagement and corruption, was threatening the livelihood of people in Lebanon. In the months prior, the Lebanese pound had dropped to record lows.
Amid the country's economic collapse, the price of basic necessities skyrocketed, exacerbating hunger for many in Lebanon. All of this was coupled with a recent escalation in COVID-19 cases, and hospitals are now packed with victims of the explosion.
In short: Those in Beirut (and Lebanon as whole) desperately need help right now.
Charity Navigator, the charity ranking site, has compiled the following list of organizations to support in the wake of the explosion. Some are secular; others, like Lutheran World Relief and International Orthodox Christian Charities, are religious. As always, make sure to do your own research to see which is right for you.
We've included some of our own picks as well, and will update this list as the list of organizations continues to grow.
GlobalGiving is a global crowdfunding community that helps nonprofits around the world fundraise.
The organization is hosting fundraisers for multiple nonprofit partners actively responding to the crisis, such as the Union of Relief and Development Associations, a Lebanese human rights organization. You can find the landing page for all of GlobalGiving's partners here.
International Medical Corps is a global humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical services, as well as training, relief, and development programs for those in need.
Hospitals are now overwhelmed in Beirut, and the International Medical Corps is on the ground providing assistance and supplies. You can donate to the International Medical Corps here. A spokesperson for the International Medical Corps told Mashable via email that donations sent here will go directly toward IMC's response in Beirut.
Preemptive Love is an organization that provides relief, jobs, and community to those on the frontlines in conflict zones.
Preemptive Love is currently on the ground in Beirut providing emergency relief to families impacted by the blast. You can donate directly to Preemptive Love's Beirut relief effort here.
Save the Children is an organization that works to provide education, health care, protection, and emergency relief to kids around the world.
In response to the explosion, Save the Children launched the Lebanon Children's Relief Fund, accessible here, which will fund "the urgent needs" of children and families. (Save the Children has field workers on the ground in Lebanon.)
While 90 percent of funds collected through the Lebanon Children's Relief Fund will specifically be earmarked for Beirut relief,10 percent of funds will go toward general emergency reserves for the Children's Emergency Fund, found here. You can also donate directly to this fund to protect children impacted by disasters, including to those in Lebanon, though the donation is not earmarked specifically for Beirut.
UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) is an agency within the United Nations that protects children's lives and rights through humanitarian aid.
UNICEF staff are on the ground in Beirut, where they're providing medical and vaccine supplies, as well as water to rescue workers and psycho-social support to children.
You can donate to UNICEF's response in Lebanon here, and you can designate funds to "Lebanon Emergency."
Mercy Corps is an international non-governmental organization that provides humanitarian aid.
The organization has set up a Lebanon Fund, which can be found here. The Lebanon Fund will give emergency assistance to small businesses critical to local communities. With the extreme economic collapse in Lebanon, helping these businesses clean up and resume business is crucial to the livelihoods of those in the most impacted areas, according to Mercy Corps.
Excess funds, if that threshold is reached, will go to Mercy Corps' "Where Most Needed Fund," which supports its global work.
Project HOPE, a global humanitarian relief organization, empowers local health care workers in order to get help where it's needed most.
Project HOPE has an emergency response team on the ground to deliver necessary medical supplies and other needed support and aid. You can donate here. A Project HOPE representative told Mashable via email that funds donated here will go exclusively to Lebanon.
ActionAid USA is an international network that works with communities on the frontlines of poverty and injustice in order to build a more just and equitable world.
As a community-led network, ActionAid teams on the ground were working with local partners right away in order to provide supplies, transportation, and reconstruction to the most impacted areas. You can support ActionAid's efforts here. (This donation will fund ActionAid's response to the current crisis, but might also fund other disaster preparedness and human rights efforts.)
Mercy-USA for Aid and Development focuses on projects that improve health, access to water, disaster relief, and educational and economic growth in order to assist communities in becoming more self-sufficient.
The organization is on the ground providing emergency relief in Beirut. You can donate here, where you can designate that your donation should go to Beirut Disaster Relief.
Oxfam is a global organization focused on poverty eradication through empowerment solutions for communities, humanitarian conflict and disaster response, and advocacy efforts.
Oxfam is working with local partners on the ground in Lebanon in order to provide water, sanitation services, and financial assistance to those in need. The organization has a Lebanon Relief & Recovery Fund, found here, which you can donate to help fund this work.
Lutheran World Relief works to combat global poverty and provides aid in emergencies and disaster to communities in need.
The organization has an emergency response fund for aid after disasters. A donation to this fund right now will go to Beirut.
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is the international humanitarian aid and development agency for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the U.S., and it offers emergency relief to communities in need around the world.
In response to the explosion in Beirut, the IOCC is currently providing hygiene parcels, extending the reach of community kitchens, and analyzing what rehabilitation can be done for buildings. Supporting the IOCC's International Emergency Response Fund, found here, will fund its efforts in Lebanon right now.
In addition to Charity Navigator's picks, there are other organizations directly involved with relief efforts in Beirut that Mashable selected because of their direct involvement with the needs of those impacted.
Impact Lebanon is an organization intended to make activism and volunteering available to the Lebanese diaspora.
The organization has a Beirut disaster relief fund, found here, through which it will be coordinating with non-governmental organizations who need help. Impact Lebanon says it will update the page with exact details on where money is going as it works with NGOs.
Impact Lebanon is also raising money for people whose homes were lost in the explosion, which you can donate to here.
The Lebanese Red Cross, an independent disaster relief organization, is the main provider of ambulances on Lebanon. After the blast, the organization set up triage and first aid stations, and dispatched ambulances to help those impacted.
You can donate to their efforts here.
With food insecurity already prevalent because of the increase in food prices, the need for increased access to food remains in the wake of the explosion, which destroyed Lebanon's primary grain silo.
The Lebanese Food Bank collects and distributes food to those in need in Lebanon. You can donate here.
UPDATE: Aug. 6, 2020, 5:56 p.m. EDT Updated with additional information about Save the Children's Lebanon Children's Relief Fund and its general emergency reserves for the Children's Emergency Fund.
UPDATE: Aug. 7, 2020, 10:46 a.m. EDT The story originally included just one of GlobalGiving's nonprofit partners but has since been updated with additional information about all of its partners.
UPDATE: Aug. 10, 2020, 3:19 p.m. EDT Updated with new organizations as Charity Navigator expanded its initial list.
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