In the presence of a number of representatives of the Aakkar region, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari opened Al-Amal bakery, where its staff will distribute 4,000 bread bags daily to 2,000 Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian families for six months.
Bukhari said: "This charity bakery offers 4,000 bread bags daily as part of the ongoing efforts of the KSRelief center. These humanitarian projects reflect the reality of the humanitarian dimension of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom's assistance, so that our people in Aakkar and the displaced will benefit from these huge projects".
Bukhari also revealed that the KSRelief center will soon open a health center in Aakkar, which will be one of the important and specialized centers in the region.
Fahad Al-Qannas, director of the KSRelief center in Lebanon, told Al-Arabiya.net that the continuation of the bakery work will depend on its success and its work will not stop if the concerned people believe that the bakery has been welcomed by families.
Al-Qannas confirmed that the KSRelief center has been supporting Lebanese and refugee families for years without distinguishing between regions.
"We have an open budget to serve poor families, and we have done various things like distributing food baskets, in-kind materials, educational and medical assistance, in addition to constructing a dialysis hospital. We have also donated ambulances to hospitals in remote villages," Al-Qannas said.
It is worth mentioning that Al-Amal Bakery was opened in cooperation with the White Hands Association, whose executive director, Sheikh Luqman Al-Khidr, said in an interview with Al-Arabiya.net that 60% of the Lebanese residents of Aakkar live below the poverty line.
Al-Khidr added: "The year 2011 was the beginning of the displacement of Syrians to the area of Wadi Khaled, which the refugees selected because its cost of life is cheaper compared to the rest of Lebanon".
"The villages of Aakkar are known for its kind residents, but the number of refugees has put an additional burden on their economic situation and so, any humanitarian action would definitely help. In this context, we have worked with Saudi Arabia since 2011 and shared the burden of poverty with the Saudi national campaign. Al-Amal bakery not only provides free products to poor families, but also provides employment opportunities for 14 Syrian and Lebanese families," Al-Khidr continued.
Talking about Al-Amal Bakery, MP, Walid al-Ba'rini said that the importance of this project is that hundreds of Lebanese and IDP families benefit from it, which shields them from need, want or hunger amid the difficult living and economic conditions, Lebanon is going through".
