On September 3rd, 2020, the Strategic Committee of AFG (Association Française de la Gestion Financière), the French Asset Management Association, professional body representing the asset management industry in France (€4,185 billion assets under management) together with Yves Choueifaty, President of TOBAM, issued a call to the members of AFG to help reconstruct the severely damaged premises of Saint Joseph University (USJ) and Hotel Dieu de France Hospital (HDF) caused by the Beirut Port blast that occurred on August 4th, 2020.
Four NGOs were proposed for the administration of the donations to the USJ Foundation which is the main body of the University in charge of the fundraising and the management of funds. In total, the collaboration was able to raise €605,000 in contributions that are being disbursed through its partners. Out of the four NGOs, Foundation for Lebanon was chosen as of February 16, 2021, to disburse €275,000 of the total €605,000.
The massive explosion of the Beirut Port caused $2M in damages to HDF with a projected deficit of $15M for 2021. It also damaged four out of five of the university’s Beirut Campuses with an estimated cost of reconstruction and rehabilitation of more than $5M.
Photo courtesy of USJ Foundation
The explosion, which some described as the 3rd most destructive explosion in history after those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, isn’t the only disaster that struck Lebanon. In addition to the explosion, the country defaulted on its debt on March 9, 2020. This default led to the suspension of payment de facto of the entire banking sector.
To make matters worse, successive governments (the last of which has resigned since August 10, 2020) have prevented the implementation of the reforms that were requested by the International Monetary Fund to be able to receive international aid through traditional channels. According to Bloomberg, the annual inflation rate in Lebanon hit a record high of 84.9% in 2020.
More than 1,528 students and 300,000 families have been affected by the recent events. This is what prompted the USJ Foundation to launch a “USJ/HDF Emergency and Solidarity Fund”. Four fundraising campaigns have been launched: “Donate to Educate”: support for USJ students, “Donate to Rebuild”: support for the restoration of devastated campuses, “USJ en mission”: humanitarian project to support disadvantaged families, and “Donate to Heal”: support for HDF.
In an interview with the Director of USJ Foundation, Cynthia-Maria Ghobril Andréa, indicated that the initial funds that were received (€563,500) are being used equally to support the two campaigns “Donate to Educate” which will fund the scholarship program and “Donate to Rebuild” to reconstruct and rehabilitate the damaged campuses of the university.
Photo courtesy of USJ Foundation
Mrs. Ghobril Andréa also indicated that the USJ Foundation with the collaboration of the Federation of USJ Alumni Associations has launched the “Emergency Fund for Students Affected by the Explosion of August 4” whose aim is to provide scholarships for the university’s students. According to the Director “Saint Joseph University of Beirut has always looked after families in difficulty and has provided financial aid by awarding scholarships to 46% of its students. After the explosion in the port of Beirut, the urgency increased dramatically, more than 1528 students were affected by the recent events and 125 were in need of additional financial aid.”
USJ Foundation aims to raise enough funds to support its different initiatives that include providing 1,483 scholarships, renovating 77 houses for the USJ community, rebuilding 5 campuses, restoring and subsidizing HDF, and assisting 1,000 disadvantaged families.
