Lebanon

Alumna Faten Taki `05 was awarded a YES mini-grant of $250.00 to open a public library for young people between the ages of 3 and 18 in her hometown of Ghazieh, located in southern Lebanon. She was able to obtain a 66 square meter room from the local municipality building thanks to the Mayor of Ghazieh, who gave her this room free of charge. She is currently networking with other organizations to seek additional donations for the library along with books and other resources.

A brainstorming session was held with the Lebanese YES Alumni Council and Regional Coordinators, CAO Ryan Gliha from the US Embassy and Mr. Jared Cohen, of the Department of State's Policy Planning Group responsible for Public Diplomacy in the Muslim World and North Africa. The meeting was an important opportunity for the alumni to engage in an open discussion with a visiting official whose specialty is in youth and the culture of the region. The discussion focused on alumni programming activities and the difficulties and challenges facing the alumni. A few suggestions were put forth to make the work of the alumni more sustainable and meaningful. One idea included a Teach for Lebanon project whereby alumni would be granted a scholarship for one year upon graduation from their universities to teach in Lebanese schools. This idea would be modeled on the Teach for America program in the United States. The meeting facilitators also made several suggestions on how to render the alumni work more efficient in transferring their knowledge and experiences to their communities.

Several alumni, led by Rayan Abou Khzam `06 and Lara Abou Shakra `06 , in coordination with the "Giving Club" of Kfarheem Secondary school, held a special celebration of Mother's Day to honor 75 elderly residents of the Ain Wazein Hospital Home. Alumni, their classmates and teachers took a minibus to the home, carrying with them over 75 packages which contained pajamas, red roses and greeting cards. The roses were donated by a local florist, and a neighborhood clothing store discounted the pajamas for the alumni and their friends, who all donated money to purchase them. The event lasted two hours and the women were thrilled to have a group of young people visiting them and showering them with care and affection. The group was also joined by 300 local high school students and healthcare workers from the home. It was a lesson to all about the value of interacting with the elderly, who are not always given the recognition and care that they deserve.