DEARBORN – Medrar Foundation, an international charity organization, is raising funds for a medical center in Lebanon, which will include a rehabilitation program for drug addicts,.

The organization has started building the Medrar Medical Complex in Shokeen, a town near Nabatiyeh in south Lebanon. 

President of the Medrar Foundation in America Jihad Fadlallah said people across the world, including Arab Americans, can benefit from the center. 

 “The number one way for addicts to recover is to get out of their environment,” explained Fadlallah. “So parents can send their addicted kids to the complex, where they can receive care in a new environment.”

Fadlallah said Medrar might set up a local office to connect potential patients with the center in Lebanon once it is built.

The U.S. branch of the organization has raised $105,000 for the $25 million-project, according to Fadlallah.

“The goal is to raise $150,000. We are still in the beginning stages,” he said. “We are still being introduced to the community.”

Jihad Fadlallah, President of Merdrar in the U.S., speaking at the organization’s fundraiser at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, on Dec. 7. PHOTO: Nafeh AbuNab

Besides the rehab, the center will include a hospital, laboratories and a nursing home, along with a gym, a library, several banquet halls and a theater.

Fadlallah said the organization decided to built the center after it found a dire need for such facilities in that area of south Lebanon.

Medrar held its third fundraiser in Dearborn at the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, on Saturday, Dec. 7. The event was attended by 300 people, including religious scholars and community leaders.

The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani, who emceed the fundraiser, stressed the importance of the rehab facility, highlighting the drug problem in the Arab American community.

Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America said too many deaths are caused by overdosing on drugs, while Grand Ayatollah Abdul Latif Berry blamed the problem on the absence of strong moral foundations in society.

Medrar started its work in 2009 with the goal of “reaching the most poor countries of the world because poverty and hunger have no nationality, color, ethnicity or religion.”

The organization was founded by a Lebanese philanthropist, who chooses to remain anonymous in accordance with an Islamic tradition that urges people not to boast about doing good.

The charity has funded the replacement of water pipes in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon and sent medical equipment to Gaza. But the foundation’s work is not limited to the Middle East. Medrar has provided humanitarian and educational services in several countries across Africa, including building an orphanage that houses 400 children in Ethiopia.

Fadlallah thanked the Islamic Institute of Knowledge for hosting Medrar’s fundraiser and highlighted the achievements of the organization across the world.

“Medrar has provided clean water resources to over 150,000 people in the most needed areas of Africa, while catering to over 5,000 students and orphans by building and operating educational institutions equipped with housing facilities for those who do not have homes beyond the school hallways,” he said. “Without a question Medrar’s accomplishments have been the result of a group effort and the tireless work of countless volunteers.”

Fadlallah told The Arab American News that Medrar is aware of the abundance of charities and non-profit organizations in the community, but it is looking to add a new option for people who want to donate and do good.

“We want to give people the choice to support our project, which is to satisfy specific needs for impoverished communities in developing nations across the world,” he said.