In Lebanon, the situation has only worsened on all fronts. In their own way, the sisters are trying to continue to offer a good quality of welcome and care to all the people in their two hospitals, the Sacré Coeur hospital in Beirut and the Bhannes hospital in the mountains.

The aim of the « Let the sun shine in » project was to rehabilitate the land around these two hospitals to grow fruit and vegetables for staff and patients, while providing work for 4 or 5 people.

Preparation and sowing

The project began with an inspection and assessment of the land to determine the type of vegetables or other compatible seeds, and the purchase of the equipment needed for the farm.

"Throughout the winter months, under the supervision of a farmer, the farm workers set about preparing the land to receive all the good seeds we gave it to hatch!" Sister Elisabeth

The workers reworked the walls of the terraces, cleared and cleaned the new plots, ploughed the land, planted a wide variety of vegetables, revived trees that were no longer bearing fruit, spread manure and installed irrigation systems according to the type of seed. And they also put up fences, not very attractive but necessary to try and prevent thieves from stealing all the crops!

Beautiful harvests to share

"Slowly, the beautiful vegetables appeared and brought sunshine to our patients' plates! Sister Elisabeth

The harvests arrived on time: cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, aubergines, herbs, lettuce, radishes, potatoes... and fruit from mango, olive, lemon, fig, papaya, apple, plum and cherry trees... All these fruits and vegetables were shared with hospital employees. In this period of economic collapse, many are poor and, even in the best of cases, their salaries are not equal to the rate of inflation.

"What a joy for the staff!
It was as if they'd received a fortune. In fact, receiving the fruit and vegetables from the harvest saved them a lot of money.
The project is over, but we want to get more staff interested and trained. We want to encourage those most in need to cultivate their own plot of land at home or on hospital grounds, depending on what is available." Sister Elisabeth

With them, thanks to you!