CLASSIC LIST

Today marked a significant milestone as we came together for a crucial conference ‘Children in Danger’ addressing the safety and well-being of children in Lebanon.

The discussions were insightful, highlighting the challenges they face and exploring solutions to ensure a safer future for the younger generation. Grateful for the passionate speakers, dedicated attendees, and organizations committed to making a positive impact. Let’s continue working collaboratively to create a secure environment where every child can thrive.

We are extremely grateful to have so many people believe in our cause and for all the individual fundraising projects that were organized in support of ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond.

Personal projects, fundraising, sales proceeds, initiatives of all kinds took place all over the world in hopes of rebuilding what was lost.

• Azar Jewelry created a unique piece and all sales profits were donated to support the reconstruction of the pediatric ward
• A painting exhibition was held in collaboration with Father Majdi Allawi under the title “Koumi ya Beirut”
• An art auction was held for Assameh #BeirutArtBeats
• Alexandra Rafie sold “Beirut my Love” t-shirts and profits went fully to ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond
• Raymonde Ayoub organized an online scrabble tournament withe proceeds donated to ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond
• All the proceeds of Cocodecabeza for the month of September were donated to ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond
• Tania Hadjithomas Mehanna donated the proceeds of her book Beyrouth by day to ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond
• Ghinwa Choueiter started a GOFundMe campaign and was able to raise 40,000 USD

As a public institution, ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond cannot directly hire new employees. With the growing number of cases and the current state ban on new hires, we were in great need of support.

The Makhzoumi Foundation’s mission is to mobilize resources, build partnerships and develop the capacities of our community in Lebanon.

With that in mind, they came to us with an ideal that was perfectly in line with their mission and supported us in achieving ours. They hired 5 full time nurses to work at the hospital and they handled  salaries, NSSF and all  other employee requirements.

As the only existing entity that operates as both a non-governmental organization and a governmental hospital, ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond presents a very interesting case study for management students. With that in mind and with great pride, a course on the topic is being offered to students at ESA and McGill University in Montreal.

The course was prepared in collaboration between Dr. Sacy and the respective universities and Dr. Sacy even held a conference to address the students directly and share more details on the day to day operation process, challenges and achievements.

As part of the curriculum, the students were asked to develop their thesis on the topic and present their cases which were later published.

In January 2019, Pf. Robert Sacy and Mr. Aboud Chami from ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond had an official visit with Mr. Jamil Itani, President of The Beirut Municipal Council.

Other representatives present during the visit were:  Dr. Michel Matar, President of the Government Hospital’s board of directors; Mrs. Karen Saliba, CEO of the hospital; as well as Mr. Gaby Fernaine, member of the Municipal Council.

The purpose of the visit was to thank the municipality for its generous contribution that helped ASSAMEH Birth and Beyond purchase a CT Scan worth $150,000. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank CMA CGM who donated $25,000 for this acquisition.

This advanced and state of the art machine allowed The Carlos Slim Center for Children to run quick and efficient diagnostics and further their mission of saving lives.

Many children who tested positive to COVID-19 in Europe and the United states are presenting symptoms of the Kawasaki-like illness. The main common symptoms that have been identified are prolonged fever, predominant digestive troubles, and signs of cardiac unrest. Some children have displayed other symptoms such as skin eruption.

What is the association between Kawasaki-like illness and COVID-19?

While the nasopharyngeal swab results for COVID-19 were negative, serology for COVID-19 was positive. Is this a false negative you may ask?

Studies have proved that 90% of children presenting Kawasaki-like symptoms had in fact received a positive serology for COVID-19 confirming they had developed an immunology response to the virus weeks before being tested.

Rest assured, this is a rare occurrence. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, 3.15% of the infections in Lebanon are younger than 10 years old and 8.19% are in the range of 10 to 19 years old.

When a child presents the Kawasaki-like symptoms the treatment is focused on reducing the blood vessels inflammation. An immunoglobulin or Ig polyvalenre (IVIg) injection is provided to regulate the immune response and reduce the inflammation.

This treatment is reducing the rate of complications up to 5%, especially the risk of developing coronary aneurysm. Some other treatments are considered, such as aspirin and corticoids can be prescribed to reduce the inflammation.

It is important to note that most children recover very quickly, and the cardiac unrest is resolved within 2 to 3 days.