International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is a US-based international relief and development agency established in 1992 by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). It offers emergency relief and development programs to those in need worldwide, without discrimination. IOCC has been working in Lebanon since 2001 and has more than a decade of experience in implementing community-driven programs that address a broad range of social issues, from relief to community development and education.

Background information about IOCC
IOCC was founded in 1992 by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA) as a response to emergency relief and development issues around the globe.

IOCC currently operates in 10 countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. All programs are guided by two principles: program integrity and the highest standards of accountability to donors. IOCCs mandate is to undertake purely humanitarian activities provided solely on the basis of need. IOCC assists some of the most vulnerable people in the world: orphans, refugees and displaced persons, elderly, children, single parent families, and individuals with disabilities.

IOCC has been implementing a school feeding and education program in Lebanon for the past five years. IOCC is currently active in Beirut and Mount Lebanon (Matn, Beirut, Baabda and Alley), in the South (Jezzine, Marjeyoun, Hasbaya, Tyr and Bint Jbeil) and in the North (Akkar, Batroun, Koura, Tripoli and Zgharta) serving a total of 242 schools and more than 45,500 direct beneficiaries and almost 135,000 indirect beneficiaries. The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The program includes a feeding component through which meals are provided to about 45,500 students; an infrastructure rehabilitation component to upgrade the physical structures in schools; an educational component that aims at engaging students and families and mobilizing local leadership and communities in support of the educational system; a capacity building component to upgrade the performance of teachers and school administrators and a child health component to upgrade the system for screening, reporting, and follow-up for ailments affecting school children that must be addressed appropriately to ensure proper growth and development.

Following 2006's summer's war in Lebanon, IOCC implemented a relief program financed by the United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Action of Churches together (ACT) through which it distributed food and other relief goods to the displaced people of the July 2006 war. More than 3,500 families in 65 border villages of the South have benefited from these projects, 104 have been assisted by ACT. Moreover, one school and one water project also fall under the ACT fund.

In December 2006, IOCC received a new grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide further support to public schools. Through this grant, IOCC will implement the Lebanon Education Assistance for Development project in 197 schools around the country. This is an opportunity for IOCC to widen its work to include even more regions around Lebanon. Through this award, IOCC will rehabilitate schools, distribute necessary school equipment and provide science and computer laboratories, organize educational activities and produce educational material (magazines, posters, play and awareness meetings), and finally, improve the community through the establishment of clubs and Parent-Teacher Associations.