ywca-beirut

Newsletter / Jan. - June ‘16T: 01 367750/1, 01 368019, 01 360789/90 | Fax: 01 374256

Ain Mraisseh - Rustom Pasha St., P.O.Box: 11-2041, Beirut - Lebanon

beirut@lebanonywca.org | www.lebanonywca.org

Celebrating Mother’s Day

The Fundraising Committee decided to

bring some joy to a number of abandoned

elderly women on the occasion of

Mother’s Day. After a thorough search,

a shelter for forsaken elderly women and

Down Syndrome children was chosen. The

proceeds from the fundraising event of

the movie screening “Burnt” were used to

purchase 3 wheelchairs, shower benches,

fuel for hot water needed by the shelter,

as well as gifts of underwear, sleepwear

and socks for the residents.

Ten YWCA Board members visited the

shelter, carrying homemade cakes and

cookies, and enjoyed sharing with the

residents a hot meal, ordered from a

nearby restaurant. No words can describe

the feeling of being able to put a smile on

the face of an elderly woman or a mentally

handicapped youth.

Unfortunately, we are unable to reveal

the name or location of the shelter in line

with the expressed wish of its caretakers

to remain anonymous.

Hotspots

“It is not how much we

give but how much love

we put into giving.”

– Mother Theresa

AUB NGO Fair April 18-19

For the second consecutive year, the

YWCA-Beirut participated in the AUB

NGO fair organized by the Center for Civic

Engagement and Community Services. It

was a very successful event. A number of

students and NGOs showed interest to

join our programs.

Women Empowerment

International Women’s Day - March 8

Since March 2010, YWCA-Beirut celebrates

this day by organizing an event to recognize

and honor an outstanding Lebanese woman

for her achievements. Dr. May Chidiac was

chosen this year for her exceptional courage

and perseverance.

Be Inspired

The Leadership Committee, Be Inspired

Program, invited Ms. Paula Yacoubian for an

informal gathering with members and friends.

Paula Yacoubian is a well-known television

personality and the host of a prime time

political show on Future TV.

More than 50 women attended this gathering

to be inspired by Ms. Yacoubian’s life

experiences, her dreams and beliefs that led

to her success.

Capacity Building of Board and Committee

Members

A training on Excellence in Public Speaking

was initiated at the YWCA-Beirut. The focus

was on how to influence the audience with

communication means and mostly to deliver

a polished, professional and credible speech.

The training was initiated by Management Mix.

Membership Activities

Membership Day

On the first Wednesday of the month,

members meet over a cup of coffee to enhance

their knowledge, acquire new interests and

make new friends.

February 3: Under the theme of “Dialogue

of Culture”, members and friends were

invited to an Indian Cultural event. The

program consisted of a presentation by

H.E. Ambassador of India Anita Nayar on

“Mythology and life in India”, an exhibition

of Indian crafts, as well as sampling of Indian

food and music.

We extend our thanks to Ambassador Nayar

and the Indian Embassy team for an enjoyable

morning!

April 6: Members and friends enjoyed a very

informative presentation by Maestro Toufic

Maatouk on the Syro-Maronite Hymns during

the Holy week.

May 4: “The Story behind Gemstones” was

presented by Mr. Karim Hakim, a fourth

generation member from the House of

George Hakim, one of the most established

and preeminent jewelers in the region.

Annual Trip

The Excursion Committee organized a

wonderful trip to the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday,

June 21st.

The day started with breakfast at Deir

Taanayel and a visit to the lake and farm.

This was followed by wine tasting at Chateau

Kefraya and a visit to the wine cellars and

vineyards by train. The trip was culminated

with a delicious lunch at Le Relais de Dionysos.

This is an on-going program full of creativity

and fun. Participants can learn oil painting,

sewing, collage, painting on ceramics, etc …

in a very friendly atmosphere.

This year we also invited Kinda Bitar, an

agriculture engineer, to teach us about

garden flavors and herbs as well as Olive Oil

Evaluation, Classification and Tasting.

Hobbies and Skills

This year 20 students graduated and were

immediately incorporated into the work

market.

Home Care Training

هشادةأدعو الله ان يعرب القلم عما يف قليب و مبا أشعر. ضاقت الدنيا يب, و اصبحت كلها مآيس ويأس و األجتماعي عائليت وضع و االرهاق بسبب الظروف الصعبة اليت مررنا هبا بعد مرض أخي و تربية ابنيت و طاليق...و مبا اين لم اكمل دراسيت و رغم اين خضعت لعدة دورات تدريبية كالعناية بالبرشة و الماكيج و الشعر اال انين لم اجد نفيس

و لم امتكن من أخذ اي هشادة.

Cooking Class

Our newest program is attracting a lot of

interested women in the culinary art with

Chef Rabih Abou Halka. The chef has an

incredible ability to transform the class

into a fun-exchange of tips and skills while

presenting a three course menu.

يف يوم شعرت انين اسهنار وبكيت كثريا و طلبت من الله ان ياسعدين. و بعد فرتة,علمت بوجود هذه الدورة و فعال من تلك اللحظة علمت ان الدورة الله اسعدين من خالل مجعيتكم. فهذه فتحت يل عدة ابواب وأتاحت يل الفرصة ان يكون لدي عمل ثابت يف مستشفى اجلامعة األمريكية فرتة انهتاء بعد مبارشة التمريض يف كماسعدة التدريب. كل ما استطيع ان اقول هو انكم انتم

الرمحة عىل االرض و لكم الدعاء الدائم.

شكرًا -- اميان

YWCA-Beirut is an active partner in the SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed’s network that provides training opportunities for youth, youth leaders and trainers active in Erasmus+ program. The training is mainly aimed at developing tools for learning.The YWCA-Beirut partnered in several workshops all over Europe:• Sharing Unites Everyone (second stage of “Collaborative

Economy for Youth work”:- Objective: Strengthen entrepreneurship of young people

networks in the context of social innovation.• Tbilisi, Georgia 11-13 March, Advance planning visit

(APV)- Participant: Rima Dinnawi

• Bakuriani, Georgia March 27–April 3, Youth Exchange- Youth Leader: Tamara Chbeir- Participants: Karim Chalhoub, Marylin Hajj, Saadi Karimeh,

Lara Karam

• Be Brave: Empower Yourself, Training Course, Séville Spain, 23–28 May.

- Objective: support and strengthen the civic participation and contribution of youth and young women organizations from European and Middle Eastern countries towards the development of Gender Equality and Democracy.

- Participants: Rima Dinnawi, Nada Nasrallah, Donna Maria Chamoun

Youth Training & Exchange Program

TestimonyMy journey in the “Be Brave: Empower Yourself” training course was a fruitful one; I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet empowered women from all around the world, learn more about the situation of women in all the countries that participated and acquire the point of view of the participants toward their situation from the rich discussions that we had.

I learned new information from the intercultural communication that I wouldn’t have learned outside this training course. Therefore, I would like to thank YWCA- Beirut for giving me this great opportunity, I am very excited to share my experience with the youth of YWCA-Beirut and I would like to share the new skill that I learned about the digital story telling with young women in the YWCA knowing that it is a multipurpose tool that can be applied in many domains.

Nada Nasrallah

This year 30 students graduated

in June in the fields of: Hospitality

Techniques, Preschool Education,

Business and Accounting. Six students

received honorary awards for their

efforts and accomplishments.Within

the framework of the Social Science

Course, students paid a visit on April 20

to the Maronite Home for the Elderly

and chatted, fed and entertained the

residents with songs and Dabkeh as

well as presenting them with gifts. It

was a very enlightening experience

for the students.

YWCA Technical College

Advocacy

Women In Parliament

The main objective of Women In

Parliament coalition is to insure women's

participation in politics at decision

making level by adoption of temporary

special measures of 30% in electoral law.

YWCA-Beirut is the coordinator of this

coalition.

In preparation for the Municipal

elections in May, Women in Parliament

launched an extensive media campaign

in collaboration with NDI and UNDP

LEAP to encourage women with

capabilities to run for elections. One

Campaign was comprised of two TV

spots which were aired on 5 local TV

stations for one month.

The first spot was aired in early May to

encourage women to run for election.

The second was aired before the

elections to encourage voters to vote

for women candidates. These spots

were sponsored by NDI.

Another campaign which was

sponsored by UNDP LEAP and also run

in May comprised:

- Five visual on 300 Billboards and 12

led screens dispersed all over Lebanon

for a period of 2 weeks.

- 1000 posters and fliers.

- Social Media Video: A small clip was

edited with the same concept used in

the billboards, posters and fliers and

was posted on Women In Parliament

social media accounts to increase the

impact of the campaign.