From Paris to Beirut … a journey on two bikes in support of cancer children

In front of the harsh battle of cancer that many children are fighting in Lebanon, some choose to fight in their own way. Some of them raise his voice towards the sky, and some of them try to seek help from any party to provide treatment, and some of them decide to cut thousands of kilometers on a bicycle to collect donations and cultivate hope in the hearts of the young. Thus, a Lebanese athlete initiative, who decided to transform sport into a means of life, was born through a long journey from Paris to Beirut in support of the Children’s Cancer Center in Lebanon.

“Hello, we are Ralph Al -Khoury and Carla Jabbour, a professional and professional bike, we are in a task to combat cancer in the only way we know: work, heart and people’s strength.” This phrase was chosen by mathematics to announce their initiative, as it explained that “in September, we will travel 5,000 km through the bike from Paris to Beirut to increase awareness and collect donations for children with cancer in Lebanon.
While Khoury and Jabour indicated that Lebanon has become a country where obtaining treatment is almost impossible for many families, they said: “We are not supported by institutions, but you support us.”
This humanitarian initiative, announced at a press conference held by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in cooperation with the Children’s Cancer Center, turns sport into a means of solidarity and a message of hope. In the details, the initiative launched by the two athletes, Ralph Khoury and Carla Jabbour, will start on September 21 of the French capital, coinciding with the international month of awareness of child cancer, and concludes on November 22 in Beirut, with its proceeds to return completely to support the mission of the Children’s Cancer Center through electronic donations.
During the press conference, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Noura Bayerdarian, stressed in her speech that sport exceeds that it is a competition, to become a “message of life and solidarity”, stressing that children with cancer are the “real heroes” who deserve all forms of support. She announced that the ministry puts its potential in the service of the initiative, as an example that “solidarity makes the difference and illuminates a candle of hope in the darkness of the disease.”
For his part, Minister of Health, Rakan Nasser Al -Din, stressed the importance of the initiative, praising the role of the center in caring for patients, and declaring the Ministry to start covering the bone marrow transplants, as well as expanding the support of medicines.
As for the Minister of Tourism, Laura Lahoud Al -Khazen, she saw that the center constitutes a “lighthouse for children and their families”, considering that the initiative embodies a “noble human story called will and solidarity.”
In light of the state’s failure to provide life requirements for patients in Lebanon, especially the young of them, such initiatives prove that the true Lebanese will is able to give the spirit of hope on a daily basis in all corners of the lives of citizens, even if this matter seems impossible in many cases.