Help strengthen Christian Love Voice in Lebanon
Alamghar means ‘pen of laurel’ in Arabic. Alamghar is a Lebanese website that serves as the voice of Christian love during dark times, and is currently run entirely by volunteers. We ask for your help to keep this website alive. Please read our story & how you can help, below.
Our story
Hi, I am Guitta. I have dedicated my life to spreading the word of God through media. Earlier this year, the religious media company I was working for shut down in Lebanon, due to the multiple crises the country has faced recently.
The impact on the Christian community in Lebanon has been significant in the past few years, linked to the national economic and political collapse, as well as to the changing dynamics of the Middle East region more broadly.
• Lebanese people of faith today, more than at any point since the Civil War, need a source of inspiration and hope (including, but not limited to, the aftermath of the port explosion a year ago), a source from which to learn about their religion (now a minority in the country), and a source of feeling connected to one another.
• After the media company’s closure in Lebanon, there was no such source online in Lebanon.
So I took my own leap of faith…
• Together with 2 volunteers (who happen to be blind), and without any funding, I launched Alamghar earlier this year. We hoped to be that source for Lebanese Christians and other believers.
• We have seen a clear hunger for what Alamghar provides, as our follower base has rapidly grown from a handful in March to ~21,000 today. Our readers have told us that [when they feel a loss of hope, they come to Alamghar to read about people overcoming challenges through faith; when they feel anger about what has happened in Lebanon, Alamghar’s stories about love helps them find peace.
Our goal is to help as many people as we can, and we believe that we can reach over 250,000 faithful in the next couple of years.
Alamghar is fortunate to have a benediction from the Maronite Catholic Church, as well as a strong base of loyal readers. What we are lacking, however, is funding to survive this crisis.
How you can help
To survive, Alamghar needs $19,240 for the next 12 months. What will these funds go to?
• The current volunteers who have co-founded this site need an income to support their families through the economic collapse (where finding employment is difficult for most Lebanese, and especially so for the blind), and these funds will provide that.
• The website also needs to be able to meet demand and reach even more people, and these funds will cover hosting, boosting, and maintenance, and will provide an income for the additional talent that will help with journalism, editing, and graphic design.
In short, the $19,240 will support 5 team members & me, and most importantly, help Alamghar continue to promote peace & spread God’s love.
Will you help?