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id bi idHand in hand
The founders in front of a collapsed building in Nabatieh
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Project 01 · Dec 2024 – Spring 2025

Family Business Relief

Direct financial aid to family businesses in Nabatieh that the war destroyed, so their owners could rebuild, regain stability and secure a future.

raised
$15,000+
businesses helped
7+
the original target
4×
GoFundMe donations
41

The objective

Help owners rebuild, not just survive

Through Id bi id, we sat down with families whose livelihoods were destroyed by the war. They shared their struggles, their hopes, and their fight to rebuild.

In December 2024 we planned to raise $3,000–4,000 for two to four families, enough to cover living costs while they got back on their feet. Donors from around the world gave more than $15,000, so we kept the fundraiser open and extended the aid to more than seven businesses.

  1. 01

    We went to Nabatieh

    On 26 December 2024 we drove to Nabatieh, in South Lebanon, and sat down with families whose shops, workshops and homes had been destroyed.

  2. 02

    We told their stories

    We filmed their interviews, edited them into short films and published them on Instagram, with the families’ consent.

  3. 03

    People gave

    The films drove donors to our GoFundMe and our website. We aimed for $3,000–4,000 and raised more than $15,000.

  4. 04

    We delivered it by hand

    We went back to Nabatieh and handed the aid to each family in person. The surplus reached more than seven businesses.

Their stories

The families we filmed

Recorded in Nabatieh on 26 December 2024. Their words come from the interviews, translated from Arabic.

Qassem Saade speaking with one of the founders on a hillside above Nabatieh

Blacksmith

Qassem Saade

Nabatieh· Supports his parents, his wife and three children

Qassem worked as a blacksmith. He used his pick-up truck to collect and tow steel for his work.

The airstrike hit his shop while he was inside it. It left him with no truck, no shop, no tools and no work. To feed his family he took loans, just to be able to stand back on his feet.

“We do not want war. We want peace. We want to live, like all these people are living.”

When we returned with the aid: “We are not as stable as we were before the war, but thank God.”

Aaref Ahmad Farran standing in the ruins of his workshop in Nabatieh

Workshop owner

Aaref Ahmad Farran

Nabatieh· Family of six

Aaref’s family fled the city during the war. When they came back, his house and the workshop he produced in, his only income, were destroyed.

He now rents a house outside the centre of Nabatieh, waiting for an opportunity to start again.

“One can always improve his situation a little, especially during these hard times.”

We returned a month after launch and handed him the aid collected for his family.

Tarek Samir Khodeih in front of the empty lot where his factory stood

Owner of Posh Design

Tarek Samir Khodeih

Nabatieh· Married, two sons

Tarek owned Posh Design. His family fled to Beirut for two months; when they came back, the factory was gone, the showroom had collapsed, and the house he had bought was destroyed too.

His family was split up: he slept at his parents’, his wife at hers, the children elsewhere. Rebuilding the factory was simply out of his budget.

“Whatever happens to you, do not give up. People should stand by each other.”

And others who asked not to be filmed

To respect their privacy we did not photograph or interview them, but they agreed to let us share their stories.

  • A baker who left school at 14 to help his father, and worked in the family bakery for 50 years. His shop, factory and home are gone.
  • A young man who had opened a stationery shop just 20 days before the war began. It collapsed.
  • A bicycle repairman whose small shop was destroyed.

Watch

The films behind the fundraiser

The Nabatieh interviews

Our first film: three families, filmed on 26 December 2024. Unedited, 7 minutes.

Delivering the aid

A month after launch, back in Nabatieh to hand over what donors gave.

€5,060 of it came through 41 donations on GoFundMe. The rest came through our website and direct transfers.

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