An Ottawa businessman and philanthropist is sending millions of dollars of medicine and tonnes of food to Lebanon to help those displaced, injured and starving as the war escalates. He’s calling on the federal government to stand for peace and commit to doing the same.
Abbis Mahmoud is the president of Dreammind Group, a hospitality and restaurant conglomerate, but he’s also spent his career fundraising for NGOs and working to leave his community better than he found it — “out of conscience.”
He’s worked to fundraise for people suffering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the Middle East, raised money with Doctors Without Borders, and during the pandemic, he founded Operation Ramzieh, which delivered food kits to seniors and those most susceptible to contracting the virus, ensuring their safety by keeping them at home.
Mahmoud recently wrapped up a recent fundraiser that raised about $160,000 for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. But now he says that what’s happening in Lebanon “keeps me up at night.”
Israeli air strikes killed at least 24 people in northeastern Lebanon on Friday as Beirut was hit by more than 10 deadly Israeli air raids overnight.
When Israel attacked Beirut in September, Mahmoud said he heard directly from the Lebanese government and Lebanese Food Bank asking for help. With the war and continued bombing campaigns that have followed, he’s been working to mobilize local NGOs, volunteers and donors to send essential medicine, medical supplies, emergency response materials and food to Lebanon.
“I came from Lebanon. I come from war. I come from fearing war,” he told Ottawa Compass. “It never leaves you.”
Through Health Partners International of Canada (HPIC), the only charity licensed by Health Canada to handle donated medicines, Mahmoud has been able to purchase medicine for 10 cents on the dollar. Painkillers and antibiotics are most needed in Lebanon, he’s been told, but as the violence continues, the medical situation will become more and more complicated.
He has committed his own money to HPIC and been fundraising, and this week, a cargo plane will leave for Lebanon carrying $400,000 worth of medicine. He said he’s hoping it will be in hands within a week.
“The doctors there gave me a list of what was most needed, because bombs have taken all their supplies out,” he said. “The list was for about 20,000 injuries, which is what they were expecting. But I think it’s going to be more now.”
Through collaboration with Lebanese organizations, Mahmoud and his partners are able to provide emergency supply kits for first responders. Each kit, purchased for $650 CAD, can treat up to 800 people.
They’re also able to distribute food packs which can feed a family of four for eight days for $32 CAD per pack.
“There are a lot of people living on the street. We used to be able to send ingredients for them to cook, but now they need ready-made food,” said Mahmoud. “But we can do that with these packs.
Water filtration centres in Lebanon have been bombed, so diseases from contaminated water are also on the rise. And as winter approaches, the situation will become increasingly dire.
“I’m going to continue pressuring friends, politicians, prominent people here to do some donations on a monthly basis,” he explained.
Mahmoud has been paying for fundraising events out of his own pocket to ensure the proceeds go directly to sending aid. His next project involves gathering trauma surgeons from Ottawa and Toronto who are volunteering to fly to Lebanon.
“It’s very unstable there, but we’re working with the doctors there, the Ministry of Health, to get some of our doctors in there,” he explained. “Then we can rotate them so it’s ongoing.”
With a secure way in and out of the country, Mahmoud and his partners have “done the heavy lifting” — “this isn’t a fly-by-night operation”.
After all the work he’s done, whether for Lebanon or the countless other causes he has supported over the years, Mahmoud said this is the first time he’s disappointed in the Canadian government.
Prior to recent escalation, Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen approved more than $31 million in humanitarian aid through on-the-ground partners delivering food assistance, safe water and sanitation, health care and protection services.
In 2024, Canada has announced more than $56 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon in 2024. In response to the recent escalation, Hussen announced an additional $10 million: $2 million for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, $2 million to the World Food Program, and up to $6 million towards two Matching Funds.
On Oct. 9, Hussen announced another $15 million to help NGO partners “scale up” operations on the ground.
For context, Canada has committed over $442 million since 2022 to support Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal invasion.
Between 2014 and 2021, Canada committed more than $250 million in development assistance to Ukraine. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Canada has allocated $352.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and neighbouring countries.
At that time, Harjit Sajjan was the Minister of International Development; Hussen took over in 2023.
Nearly 12,000 Ukrainians are estimated to have been killed since the Russian invasion. In Lebanon, nearly 3,000 people have been killed and 13,000 wounded in Israeli attacks since the war on Gaza began, according to local health officials. The United Nations estimates the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 40,000 in just over a year.
Global Affairs Canada said it has been providing commercial flights out of Lebanon, based on demand. In the event of an evacuation, only Canadian citizens and permanent residents would be eligible and would be evacuated to a “safe third location” at the expense of the traveller, Global Affairs said.
But Canada’s role in international affairs, particularly in the Middle East, has “diminished”, Mahmoud said, and when the war is over, “the horror will be seen.”
“I’ve done a lot here. I’ve contributed a lot. But it’s just pure racism at this point,” he said. “For the first time, I’m questioning justice, humanity, and the role of our government.”
On Nov. 15, Dreammind Foundation will be hosting a full-course mediterranean dinner fundraiser in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders, HPIC and GlobalMedic for relief logistics. They are targeting sending $2 million worth of medicine and hoping to raise $150,000, said Mahmoud.
“I’m not doing this because I’m Lebanese. If they were aliens, I’d do the same thing,” he said. “(Canada) used to stand for peace, for humanity, and it’s gone down the gutter. And that’s a shared sentiment both here and overseas.
“People are asking me, ‘How is this happening?’ I have always had great belief in equality and peace and justice,” Mahmoud continued. “And I don’t anymore. That’s what haunts me.”
