Provide Education for Refugee Children in Lebanon

Marhaba from Insan School,

We have some splendid news for you this time!

Firstly, two more groups of women and girls graduated from the basic literacy and numeracy classes in Mount Lebanon and in Bekaa at the end of August showing an increased knowledge in Arabic, English and math and expressing great satisfaction with the activities. Two more groups of women (among them migrant workers) in the same locations also completed the psychosocial support program. In 2023, Insan is hoping to continue working with some of the women involved in this project (if funding allows) and provide them with extra support for accessing employment opportunities.

Secondly, Insan is about to start a new education project in January 2023. The project will target women and girls (aged 14+) and will also be implemented in Mount Lebanon and Bekaa. Like the project that just finished, it will include basic literacy and numeracy (BLN) classes. However, in addition to Arabic, English, math and life skills classes, Insan will also provide them with French and computer classes. Instead of the psychosocial support sessions, Insan will resume its vocational training (VT) program in cooking and pastry and train another group of young women to become chefs or (agri)food entrepreneurs. All the students (BLN, VT) will also be offered soft skills sessions where they learn how to write their CV, where to look for a job, how to prepare for a job interview etc. All the VT students will be able to benefit from one-on-one job counselling sessions as well and 10 most interested and talented students will be offered seed funding to launch their own small businesses.

Thank you for supporting us and the vulnerable communities in Lebanon. Stay tuned for updates next year.

For now, we wish you all a very happy and peaceful holiday season!

Best Regards,

The Insan Team

Marhaba from Insan School,

Summer has arrived to Lebanon and that has brought some relief to Insan’s beneficiaries in Bekaa who struggle to keep warm in the informal tented settlements during winter months. At the same time, in Mount Lebanon the temperatures are now reaching over 30 C and with the lack of electricity supply they struggle to keep even the basic household appliances such as fridges and washing machines working so air conditioning and fans are out of question. Also, at the school Insan is unable to have electricity 24/7 regardless of the monthly membership with a privately owned generator company. Unfortunately, this is the reality in Lebanon today.

However, the people are tough and force themselves to carry out with life as normally as possible given the circumstances. INSAN is currently conducting basic literacy and numeracy classes for young women and teenage girls in both Mount Lebanon and in Bekaa. Twice per week they have English, Arabic and math classes in each location and once a week life skills classes. In Bekaa the level in all subjects is very low as the women and girls there have mostly never been to school. Thus, they are mostly just learning letters and numbers. In Mount Lebanon the level is a bit higher and the women and girls there are also learning some basic verbs, common nouns and adjectives and read and write some simple sentences. In Arabic they have also been learning the masculine and feminine forms of words and forming questions. In math they have been learning addition, multiplication and geometry. In life skills classes they have got to know more about emotions, communication, resilience, critical thinking, team leading, working under stress and ambition.                                        

The psychosocial support sessions (PSS) are also still ongoing both in Mount Lebanon and in Bekaa. The topics covered in the last four months included the following: stress management, coping strategies, social interaction, violence, defense strategies, emotions, self-esteem and gender equality among others.

Thank you for supporting us and the vulnerable communities in Lebanon.

Best Regards,

The Insan Team

Marhaba from Insan School,

We always promise you to get back with news and here we are happy to give you updates from Insan School.

Despite all the harsh economic conditions Lebanon is passing through, we are still able to support parents, youth and children from the vulnerable refugee and host communities. In December 2021 Insan School started a new pre-vocational training program for women in two different areas across Lebanon: Mount Lebanon and Bekaa. The young women beneficiaries are excited to improve their language and math skills, aiming at becoming empowered economically and socially.

Women are also receiving psychosocial support sessions with a focus on their role in society and their equal rights. They are learning coping skills, positive relationships, social inclusion and gender equality. All activities are progressing in a timely manner in Mount Lebanon. In Bekaa we faced some delays in our sessions due to harsh weather conditions this winter but we will make sure to compensate for the few sessions missed for our beneficiaries. On the bright side, women have spent the best day of their lives this Mother’s Day as they said. They celebrated this day outdoors, ate cakes and pies, took memorable photos, played games and engaged in interactive activities as they sang and danced all together. We are happy that we were able to put joy in their hearts and beautiful smiles on their faces.

In Ghazir (Keserwan) and Ein El Remmeneh (Beirut), Insan continued to provide adults and children with PSS and arts and crafts sessions. We faced some delays in Ghazir due to snowy weather and Covid-19 that found its way to our staff, but we made up for the missed sessions in the following weeks. Adults are getting better in positive parenting, attaining coping mechanisms, empathy and support for their children using different engaging techniques including group workshops, group therapy and games. At the same time, they are enjoying arts and crafts activities such as drawing on pottery or chinaware and making straw baskets.

Children in these two areas are continuing their PSS session with a focus on child protection. They are getting more able to express their emotions, overcome traumatic events, being positive and having self-esteem. Due to the increasing video game and social media addiction in children, they are learning about its negative effects and the ways to limit the time spent on these devices.

Last but not least, children are discovering their capabilities and hobbies in the arts and crafts sessions through painting and recycling waste like creating bowling game using toilet rolls. In addition, they are getting the chance to socialize with new groups in the day events by doing different group activities.

Thank you for supporting Insan and vulnerable communities in Lebanon. We will make sure to get back with good news soon.

Best Regards,

The Insan Team

Marhaba from Insan school,

Time has flown by so fast and it’s time for yet another update from Insan School.

It has been a rather busy time for everyone. So many different activities were taking place at the same time. Pre-vocational training students continued practicing their skills in languages and math together with our lovely teachers Lydia and Maria. Some classes were even taken outside of the classroom to escape from the heat and change the atmosphere. 

Vocational training students have been learning lots of new recipes once again under the supervision of our amazing chefs Alain and Jean. The last 4 months delicacies include chicken curry, lazy cake, apple crumble, bamia b’zeit (okra in oil, a popular Lebanese dish), tawouk (a popular Middle Eastern chicken dish), knefe (a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with cheese), kafta bi thineh (meat dish with sesame paste), lasagna, red velvet cake, siyadiyeh (Lebanese fish and rice dish), tiramisu and donuts among others.

Insan also continues to provide psychosocial support (PSS) sessions with a focus on child protection to children. The topics covered are numerous: being and staying healthy, video games addiction, positive social skills, emotions, self-esteem, physical safety, and gender equality. The sessions are conveyed in a fun and playful way and they are highly interactive in order to bring about the best results.

Adults continue to benefit from the PSS sessions as well but in their case the focus is on positive parenting and they entail role playing, group work, talk therapy and games. The topics covered include: introduction to parenting skills, identifying parental stress, coping and healing strategies, brain development, space development and positive relationships, empathy, discipline with dignity.

Last but not least, arts and crafts classes have been added to the list of educational activities. The children have had the chance to paint and create items out of recycled materials for example. Furthermore, every two months we hold an open day event to welcome the new groups. This time we also had a giant bird mascot entertaining the children.

Thank you for supporting us and the vulnerable communities in Lebanon.

Best regards,

The INSAN team

Marhaba from Insan school,

We are excited to provide you with another update from Insan School.

Covid-19 measures such as restrictions of movement and closures of schools have been lifted for now and this has given us the possibility to enliven our activities at the school again. Students at our Sed El Boushrieh center continue to improve their skills in Arabic, math and English and they also have general culture and life skills classes. They are happy to see their friends again and during breaks they love to play ball together in the school yard.

Vocational training (VT) students have been busy learning how to prepare various dishes and mouth-watering desserts originating from Lebanon, Italy, France and elsewhere. Some examples include Mujadara (Lebanese lentil dish), Molokhia (Lebanese dish including rice, chicken and Jew’s mallow/jute leaves), Pasta Ai Quattro Formaggi, Tarte Tatin, Chocolate Fondant, Choux à la Crème, Brownie, Nammoura (semolina cake).

In Bekaa we have also been able to restart our activities. In the past months we have been tutoring 40 students of different levels, giving them English, math and Arabic classes. We also played some fun games with them, did crafts together and organised outdoor visits. The classes in our Tyre center are currently on halt as we are changing the location. However, as soon as the new center has been set ready, we will resume all the activities.

Insan also continues to provide its students with psychosocial support and child protection activities. The aim of these activities is to equip children and youth with alternative ways of expressing emotions, processing traumatic events and developing a positive self-image and healthy coping mechanisms. The activities are very interactive and involve various games, writing, drawing, group discussions etc. to help everyone express themselves and relieve their stress.

Thank you for supporting us and the vulnerable communities in Lebanon.

Best regards,

The INSAN team