First batch of food donations ready to be shipped to Lebanon

Twenty tonnes of dry food have been collected so far in Cyprus, that are set to be distributed among the Lebanese public whose lives were overturned last week by the blasts that ripped through the capital, Beirut.

The governor of Beirut Marwan Abboud said over 200 people are believed to have been killed by the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely at Beirut's port for six years.

Hundreds of thousands of people are living in severely damaged homes, many without windows or doors, while thousands more have been left homeless.

Countries across the globe immediately mobilized to aid in relief efforts. On its part, Cyprus had sent multiple search and rescue teams to assist the search for survivors and missing persons. The Cypriot rescue mission in Beirut was on its way back to the island after Lebanon shifted its search and rescue focus to recovery.

On Monday, the Cyprus commissioner for volunteerism and NGOs Yiannis Yiannaki said that Cyprus volunteers, businesses, and the general public have also collected some 20 tonnes of dry and canned foods.

The first batch will be transported to the port of Limassol, Yiannaki said, where they will be loaded together with other items on the ship of the Greek Military Navy "IKARIA", which will depart for Lebanon on Tuesday.

"A large volume of essentials, collected from citizens and companies, more than 20 tons of dry food - canned food, cereals, crackers, flour, milk powder for children of different ages - were packed by volunteers over the weekend and are being loaded now", he said.

Yiannaki noted that the collection of goods will continue until Friday and said that there are collection sites in every district.

The Commissioner expressed great satisfaction with the way the people of Cyprus have responded to the Lebanon relief call.

Aid from the Republic of Cyprus also included €5 million while the government will also stand ready to place the international airports of Larnaca and Paphos and the “Andreas Papandreou” military airbase, as well as the ports of Limassol and Larnaca, at the disposal of the UN and the international community involved in any humanitarian and other assistance deemed necessary.

During protests over the weekend, Lebanese citizens took to the streets demanding reforms and calling on international actors to provide aid directly to the people, bypassing what they called a "corrupted" system in the country.

Cyprus collection points

Nicosia 

Nicosia, State Fair Grounds (Kiosk 59)

9am-5pm, Monday-Friday

Tel. 22524414

Limassol 

Municipality’s community food bank on Filellinon Street (Ayios Ioannis)

8am-3pm, Monday-Friday

Tel. 99728871

Larnaca 

Municipal Parking – Tasos Mitsopoulos Avenue

(Mackenzie area, opposite ice cream parlours)

8.30am-2pm, Monday-Friday

Tel. 99817979

Paralimni

KEPA (Agios Christoforos) on 50 Agios Nektarios Street

7.30am-2pm, Monday-Friday

Tel. 23829899 / 23741623

Paphos 

Old Electricity Hall on Vladimirou Irakleous Street

8am-2pm, Monday-Friday

Tel. 80006362

For more information call: 22400163 or 22524414.