Cyprus collects additional 170 tonnes of Beirut relief

The Cyprus public has amassed an additional 170 tonnes of humanitarian aid for the people of Lebanon, who were ravaged by deadly blasts at a Beirut port area earlier this month, with the aid currently being loaded into containers that will be transferred to the Limassol port, from where they will be shipped to the neighbouring country.

According to the Cyprus office of volunteerism and non-governmental organizations, Cyprus residents, companies, local authorities, NGOs and other organizations responded to the office’s relief campaign, with 170 tonnes of aid collected.

The campaign, carried out in collaboration with the foreign ministry, featured four collection sites across Cyprus, with donated items then gathered with the support of the National Guard and the civil defence at the Nicosia coordination centre set up at the state fair premises.

The office noted that the 170 tonnes are in addition to the 70 tonnes already transported to Beirut on board the Greek vessel ‘Ikaria’.

An additional 20 tonnes of relief donations for Beirut were collected by the Cyprus public in response to the campaign launched by the private courier service company Aramex, which transported the aid abord a chartered flight. 

“It has been proven once again that the hearts of Cypriot citizens are much larger than Cyprus’ population size,” the Cyprus office of volunteerism and non-governmental organizations said.