BEIRUT, Lebanon (KSEE) – Thousands of dollars in donations from the valley are on their way to help people in need thousands of miles away.

When the plea for help was made, the Central Valley responded. More than $36,000 was donated in the KSEE24 telethon to help survivors of February’s devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

Anjar in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon near the Syrian border, it’s an agricultural area much like the Central Valley. After the 1915 Armenian Genocide, Armenians who fled the country came here. And to this day, the population of 2,400 is predominantly Armenian.

While the medical mission doctors from Fresno meet patients at a local clinic, a delegation from Aleppo Syria makes the 7-hour drive to this tightly guarded border crossing on a very cold and windy day to receive the valley’s gifts.

A delicate transfer with only the suitcases full of medical supplies and the cash donations crossing the border into Syria. With assurances, every cent of the relief will go to people in need.

The transfer is now on its way fueled by the valley’s generosity impacting lives thousands of miles away.