Simard Hareb

With a wide smile and an enthusiastic hand wave across an alleyway, a woman full of energy warmly welcomed Al Mayadeen English’s team to her house in Borj Al-Barajneh in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. There, everyone knows the direction to her house and shows pride in knowing such a great person.

When we entered the modest house, we were surprised to see a couple of kids in the women’s kitchen preparing meals.

“I come here two times or one time per week, depending on my free time,” told us 14-year-old Mohammad Saker, who said he was raised to do charity from a young age.

“I feel bad to have food on my table while others have nothing to eat,” he added.

Mohammad said he comes to this house after school to offer help and feed the poor.

Next to him, his brother Ali, said he does charity “to gain good deeds.”

“I’ve been helping in charity for three years now since I was five or four, I love to come here, help in charity, and pack meals,” the seven-year-old recalled.

“I love to do charity because I feel bad for poor people who fast the whole day and are not able to have Iftar,” Ali explained.

He said he started coming to this house when he “met Miss Simard.”

#Lebanon's economic meltdown is not the only factor that is affecting the crisis-stricken country. #BeirutBlast pic.twitter.com/Ygds5KEink
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 25, 2023

But who is Simard?

Simard Hareb, a school teacher by day and a superhero at night -- the woman who welcomed us to her house -- took it upon herself to help numerous families and individuals in need amid a killer economic situation that struck Lebanon.

It is noteworthy that the country has been experiencing a severe economic crisis since late 2019, which has resulted in a currency collapse, hyperinflation, and widespread poverty.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a significant role in exacerbating the crisis. The lockdowns and restrictions that were imposed to control the spread of the virus have further hampered the country's already struggling economy.

The economic crisis has had a severe impact on the country's economy, with inflation skyrocketing and the currency losing over 90% of its value in less than two years. The country's GDP declined by 6.5% in 2022 and unemployment rates have surged to 29.6%.

The Lebanese people are facing an acute shortage of basic goods, such as food and medicine, and the cost of living has increased dramatically. Many people are struggling to make ends meet, and poverty rates have soared. The crisis has also caused a significant brain drain, with many talented professionals leaving the country in search of better opportunities.

The Lebanese banking sector has also been severely impacted by the crisis. Lebanese banks were heavily invested in government debt, which has become increasingly unsustainable. The banks have imposed strict capital controls, limiting withdrawals and transfers, which has further restricted economic activity.

Celebrating 12 years of working in charity

By the time we were filming, Simard was celebrating 12 years of working in charity. For five years in a row, she’s been pursuing the “Kafalat Al Jar” initiative in Ramadan, where for 30 days, she and her friends use Simard’s kitchen as a station to fill an average of 26 meals and even 80 meals on weekends and distribute them daily on Iftar time.

Simard also launched other initiatives, such as the $1 project, where let’s say, in a family of five, each family member would give her a dollar per week. This was the case when the exchange rate was 1,500 pounds against the dollar. Today, it became much higher. According to Simard, between 800 and 900 families take part in this initiative, which allows her to help and follow up on 18 cases in need -- ranging between the elderly, orphans, and individuals who do not have a breadwinner -- on a monthly basis.

She specifies that her target group is people who do not have support, a breadwinner, and any returns.

“In other words, people who if you don’t knock on their door, no one would ever will,” Simard said.

“We don’t film them or take their pictures out of respect for their dignity because as I said before and will always repeat, people’s dignity is a red line that should not be trespassed no matter what,” she stressed, referring to a recent trend practiced by so-called influencers whereby they offer no help without filming the people they are giving the aid to. For them, it has all to be on camera for the sake of publicity and social media engagement.

'The day I stop charity is the day I die': The story of Simard

'The day I stop charity is the day I die'

If someone looks at Simard’s refrigerator, they can see three pictures; the pictures of her deceased mom, her friend’s son Taym, and her best friend Ramona, whom she lost in a car accident.

“When my parents passed away, I decided to make charity in their name. This is how it all started,” she recounted.

“These three people are my motivation; they push me to do charity, God willing, till the rest of my life,” she added.

“The day I stop charity is the day I die.”

How did the economic crisis affect charity work?

“I think that you will laugh a lot when you know that it is the people who provide me with the ingredients,” Simard told Al Mayadeen English.

Due to the tough circumstances that the country is going through, she launched another initiative called the One Item Project, where she asks donors on Facebook -- depending on their capacity and capability -- to get her only one item out of many that she needs for her charity work.

“I could be the only person who would say that the economic crisis affected me positively,” Simard jokingly said, touching on the economic crisis that Lebanon is suffering from.

“It is impossible that my work of charity will be halted,” she stressed, explaining that this is because she is not dependent on a certain party or business.

“As long as one person can give one grain of rice, we will survive,” she underlined.

“This was and will remain my motto in life.”

Simard said she could not easily reach an area called Ein El-Sekkeh, which is seven minutes away from her house, because many people would stop her on the way to hand her donations.

“I have been doing this for a long time now that it has become my lifestyle. People usually wake up worried about their husbands and kids, but I wake up worried about my cases, whether I secured their medications or food on the table,” she indicated.

What problems does Simard face?

Simard believes that she doesn’t face a lot of problems, but sometimes she receives bothering notes about her initiatives, specifically during the holy month of Ramadan.

“At the beginning of Ramadan, someone sarcastically asked me, ‘What will you feed people? Bulgur with tomatoes?'"

"I don’t know why these people say such comments. I sometimes look at these people and feel sorry for them, not being able to feel for others,” she said.

“I feel sorry for the people who are well-off, yet they do not think about others."

"I might be able to eat well, while others might not. If I split the food between us, we can both eat well and continue to live,” Simard expressed.

“It’s a very simple concept and equation.”

Read more: A vegetative Lebanon in Ramadan