On the last day of his working visit in Beirut, High Commissioner Zareh Sinanyan also had the opportunity to visit community based organizations and volunteers which have been working with the Armenian community in Lebanon for decades and which were on the front lines of serving the community after the August 4 explosion.

The Karagheusian Foundation’s Primary Healthcare Center in Bourj Hammud provides the Armenian community with a wide range of medical and dental services as well as a multifaceted social-assistance program. The High Commissioner toured the center with

Serop Ohanian, Karagheusian's Lebanon Field Director, and also had an opportunity to have a discussion with social workers.

The High Commissioner also met with representatives of the Armenian Relief Cross Lebanon, toured the medical facility as well as the soup kitchen, and had a roundtable discussion with representatives of the organization and medical professionals who shared their experiences not just of the explosion and aftermath but also their work in serving the community.

Next was a visit with a group of dedicated AGBU Young Professionals and their Disaster Response Unit where they are doing needs assessments and home visits daily with hundreds of Armenians with damaged homes. Spending time with these dedicated young people was beyond inspiring.

We also made a stop at the United Armenian College to tour the school, meet with representatives and assess the damage.