Palestinian camps in Lebanon are in the midst of an ongoing humanitarian crisis. With recent cuts in aid from UNRWA coinciding with a massive influx of Syrian refugees into the camps, social problems like hunger are becoming more pervasive.

Many families in Shatila and elsewhere are forced to make devastating decisions on a daily basis, like choosing whether to buy medicine or food.

Such conditions are inhumane and CYC, for its part, is attempting to do as much as it can to improve them.

On Wednesday, CYC in cooperation with the Al-Amal Institute for the Disabled and the “Sweater and Wheat” Relief Program, procured and distributed packages of food and home-necessities to about 200 Syrian and Palestinian families in Shatila. Both staff members and youth volunteers helped out in the process. The items included staples such as burghol, chickpeas, beans, homos, wheat, lentils, as well as sweaters and soap.

Such efforts, which help meet the demands of suffering families, are important but cannot exist in isolation. Other organizations are, indeed, pitching in, like CYC, but more must be done across the board in order to address this deeply troubling situation.