A rooftop in Beirut has long meant one thing in Lebanese culture: a place to gather, breathe and look out over the city. That image gave journalist Dalia Dagher the name for her humanitarian association, Stouh Beirut — 'stouh' being Arabic for rooftops — and the name fits its mission of offering shelter and a fresh start to Lebanon's most vulnerable.
The story began in 2013, when Dagher launched a televised Telethon to raise money for people in urgent need. As Lebanon's crises deepened, she saw that one annual broadcast wasn't enough, and in 2017 the association was formally registered. The economic collapse prompted a further step: in 2021 she founded a sister organization in France, Les Toits de Beyrouth — literally 'The Roofs of Beirut'.
Today Stouh Beirut works across five areas: emergency relief (food, winter supplies, essentials), access to medical care and surgeries, education for children and young people, women's empowerment through training and psychological support, and the wider network of volunteers and donors that funds it all. Its recent emergency response shows the scale. In just over five weeks during the 2026 conflict, the team reached more than 65,100 people across Lebanon and handed out over 323,900 essential items. By 8 April it had delivered 120 tons of aid to southern Lebanon, with roughly 40 tons carried on its third humanitarian convoy alone.
One of its most significant long-term projects is Femmes du Soleil, launched in 2025 in partnership with Les Toits de Beyrouth and Maisons des Femmes Restart. It centres on a facility in Dhour El Choueir, in Lebanon's mountains, that can shelter up to 20 women at a time — offering not just a safe room but vocational training, healthcare and psychological support aimed at genuine economic independence.
For travellers and the Lebanese diaspora, the easiest way in is the annual Telethon. The 16th edition lands on 23 December 2026, and the season around it is packed: a fundraising evening at O Beirut on 13 November, a concert in Vizille near Grenoble on 27 November, exhibitions in Strasbourg from 3-5 December and at St Maron Church in Paris on 5-6 December, plus a Paris event on 6 March 2027. Donations of any size can be made at stouhbeirut.org, and the association also welcomes volunteers, corporate sponsors and people willing to simply spread the word.
Why does this matter to a travel audience? Lebanon has been through economic collapse, the Beirut port blast and repeated conflict, and local organizations like this one carry much of the weight of recovery. If you're planning a trip to Beirut, knowing which grassroots groups actually work there — and showing up to a Telethon night or a fundraiser while you're in town — is one of the most direct ways to put your travel budget to good use. Stouh Beirut's own framing puts it well: solidarity isn't measured by the size of the contribution, but by the collective willingness to show up.
