Who We Are

The work that would eventually become Witness as Ministry did not begin with the Syrian war.

For years, members of the Bouchebel family had been engaged in humanitarian service across Lebanon and the wider region, working among communities affected by conflict, poverty, displacement, and instability. Those years built deep local relationships, practical experience, and an understanding of what it means to serve in places where need is rarely simple and crises seldom end quickly.

Then, in 2011, war engulfed Syria.

As the conflict intensified, families began crossing into Lebanon in extraordinary numbers, exhausted, displaced, and carrying the weight of everything they had left behind. Many arrived with little more than they could carry. Homes had been destroyed. Families had been separated. Livelihoods disappeared almost overnight. The needs were immediate, overwhelming, and growing.

For a Lebanese Christian family already deeply rooted in humanitarian work, this was not a distant crisis. It was unfolding across the border, among communities they knew, in a region they understood.

That moment led them to begin this work in earnest, and WAM was formally founded to give structure, reach, and permanence to a humanitarian commitment that had already been years in the making. The Internal Revenue Service recognised WAM as a 501(c)(3) charity in October 2014.

Rooted in Christian values of compassion, dignity, and service, its founders believed that people facing war, displacement, and loss needed more than short-term relief. They needed practical assistance, trusted relationships, and sustained support through the difficult period that follows a crisis.

In those early months, WAM moved quickly to turn concern into action. Drawing on long-standing relationships in Lebanon and the region, the organization mobilized large-scale shipments of humanitarian assistance, including 40-foot containers filled with medical supplies, clothing, and other essential goods. The challenge was not simply getting aid into the country, but ensuring it reached the right people. WAM worked through trusted local networks to identify urgent needs, navigate difficult operating conditions, and place resources directly into the hands of families and communities under extraordinary pressure.

As the war continued, WAM’s response evolved with it. The needs were no longer only material. Years of violence, uncertainty, displacement, and economic strain were leaving deep emotional scars, not only among Syrian families seeking safety in Lebanon, but also among Lebanese families living with the growing pressures and fears created by a conflict unfolding just across the border.

WAM began working with trauma specialists to help local leaders, caregivers, and communities better understand and respond to those wounds. The focus expanded beyond immediate relief to include trauma awareness, emotional support, and practical tools for families and children affected by fear, loss, instability, and prolonged uncertainty. In many ways, the host nation was carrying its own trauma even as it opened its doors to people fleeing an even greater crisis.

This experience reinforced an important lesson for WAM: in prolonged emergencies, suffering rarely belongs to only one population. Displacement affects those who flee, but it also reshapes the communities that receive them. Effective care therefore had to reach both.

Those years further shaped WAM’s understanding of humanitarian service. Emergency relief is essential. But relief alone is not enough.

When international attention shifts, funding declines, and a crisis disappears from the headlines, local communities are still there. Families are still rebuilding. Churches and local organizations are still serving. Community leaders are still carrying the burden.

We began investing more intentionally in the people, churches, local organizations, and community partners that remain long after outside attention has moved elsewhere. In many of the communities where WAM serves, these local institutions are among the first to respond and the last to leave. They know the families. They understand the culture, history, and challenges of their communities. They have earned trust over years of presence and service. Their commitment is not temporary.

WAM began strengthening these churches and trusted local organizations so they could do more than distribute aid. We helped equip them to care for vulnerable families, serve displaced people, respond to emergencies, support persecuted communities, and become stronger centers of compassion, practical service, and long-term support within the places they call home.

Over time, WAM’s work expanded across the Middle East and into Africa. The settings have varied, including war, displacement, persecution, poverty, fragile health systems, and humanitarian emergencies, but the principle has remained consistent: respond where suffering is greatest, work through trusted local relationships, and stay engaged beyond the immediate crisis.

Today, WAM continues to respond when emergencies strike while also investing in what comes next. We strengthen churches and local organizations. We equip local leaders. We care for families. We support persecuted communities. And we help communities move beyond immediate crisis toward greater stability, dignity, resilience, and renewed hope.

The organization was born in response to the Syrian war, but the commitment behind it began long before.