Lebanon on Wheels 2023

This year Gordian and Paul Graf Strachwitz will be cycling from Freiburg, in southern Germany to Rome, while Gaudens and Nicodème

Westphalen will be cycling from Denmark to the Atlantic coast of France.

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Our two teams are fundraising to support seven young boys living in Beirut with schooling. The boys are Mikhael, Youssef, Toufic, Taha, Ibrahim, Anthony and Abbas. These young men live in Deir el Salib, a home for handicapped people in Beirut.

In the last two years, things have gotten much more difficult for our friends in the homes, run by the amazing sisters of the cross, as the economic situation has deteriorated. The boys aren't given the care or support which they deserve. The homes have few public funds at their disposal and as a consequence most of the institutions are overcrowded and have trouble finding suitable personnel. The nuns and caretakers work with huge amounts of love, endless energy and ensure that the key elements of day to day life are accomplished (feeding, washing, diaper changing and so on). They truly are modern day heroes.

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The boys we have been supporting are now no longer able to go to school as the place they previously attended has shut. This is why we need your help.

We are looking to raise money to fund a speech therapist, who would help them to develop their most basic way of communicating, and a psychomotor therapist to address motor or emotional difficulties and behavioural problems. The cost of each therapist would be around $400/month. Our goal is to secure the therapy costs for two years and have a little extra to spend on therapeutic equipment.

Following the tremendous success of the five editions of Lebanon on Wheels, it is clear that our friends in Lebanon are brimming with potential and talent. At their age, they are very capable of learning a huge amount and benefit from a tailored education. This chance must not be taken away from them due to a lack of funding. Thanks to your donation, not only the childhood but the whole life of our friends can be greatly improved. 

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Please do help us in any way you can, be that by donating, promoting Lebanon on Wheels or offering a meal or a shower to the cyclists along the way. Every little helps and reaching out means a lot to us.

Thank you. 

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The Lebanon on Wheels team