BEIRUT: While rescue workers pulled bloodied residents from remains of the building that collapsed Sunday in Ashrafieh and hundreds of people pressed around the military cordon to get a better look, Paola Elsitt decided to do something about the disaster before the final toll of casualties was announced.

Elsitt, a 20-year-old student, went to a radio station and announced that she was going to coordinate a university effort to raise money for the wounded residents. At the time she didn’t know the first thing about how she would get that done.

There was an outpouring of support. Two days after the seven-story building collapse Elsitt is now coordinating fundraising efforts at seven university campuses including the American University of Beirut, both Lebanese American University campuses, University of Balamand and her own Notre Dame University.

“I just saw the news I don’t know anyone from there, I don’t have any contact with the families or anything, I just saw the news and it was extremely, extremely bad.”

Elsitt hopes to reach all of Lebanon’s universities to collect funds for the injured people and their families, after the building collapsed and trapped dozens of people underneath.

Many people in the country decided to try and do something about the disaster instead of just standing and watching. Some organized blood donations at the Ashrafieh local hospitals while others set up web pages of available services to help the injured and the displaced.

The website’s address circulated on Twitter and people added their names, contact numbers and services they could provide, otherwise unsolicited.

Investigators are probing the collapse and the government has decided to give $20,000 to each of the victims. So far 27 people have been pronounced dead and 12 were pulled from the wreckage injured.

The rescue operation has been called off, and the number of dead is expected to increase as excavation of the rubble nears the bottom.

But many people felt the government response wasn’t enough or that they needed to contribute more.

A Facebook page has been set up to aid the victims and several people are lending clothing and food drives.

“We just can’t stand and watch what’s happening without taking a step,” Elsitt said. “I dont have enough power to do something more, I need people with more experience to do this, luckily I found people,” she added.

Like the other aid efforts Elistt quickly found help in her venture from activists, students and many other people just looking to lend a hand. “It’s the least we can do but it’s not enough for the victims,” she said.