FREE Mental Health Support To Arab Women In War

by Intisar Foundation

Project Report | Mar 9, 2022
Expanding our drama therapy programmes

By Sara Sakhi | Research Consultant

A group of women taking part in a session

Since its launch in 2018, Intisar Foundation has had the goal of expanding its reach geographically to target as many communities in the Arab World. Our goal is to promote bottom-up Peacebuilding through mental health support for women. Women play an integral part in the social and economic rebuilding in any post-conflict situation, however, their mental and emotional needs are often neglected and set to the side. Often, by supporting their mental health, we are directly contributing to the betterment of their families and communities.

Recently, Intisar Foundation launched a new programme in partnership with Generous Hand organization, a local, grass-roots Lebanese NGO that creates programmes to support the local community. The programme is being held in Mgheiriyi, Iklim El Kharoub in Lebanon. The main demographic is widowed women impacted by war. These women are affected by the long-lasting impact of war, poverty, economic unrest and uncertainty, the pressure of being the main breadwinner for their children and finally, the loss of their husbands. Most of this group suffers from severe mental health issues including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

The drama therapy programme is designed to alleviate emotional distress and improve resilience, all while building long-lasting social bonds that go beyond the final session and provide a sustainable support system. Following COVID-19 safety regulations, we are maintaining the smaller subgroups that help us avoid over-crowding and ensure social distancing. The sessions follow the standardised drama therapy structure developed by Intisar Foundation.

As we continue to expand our programmes and reach, we recognise GlobalGiving and all the donations received through this platform as a necessary part of what keeps us going. Your donations are helping us make a change.

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Nov 16, 2021
Mental Health Support to Arab Women in war

By Rebecca Antonios | Communication Officer & Business Developer

The situation in Lebanon has gotten progressively worse due to the deteriorating economic instability in the country. For this reason, Intisar Foundation has strengthened its efforts to support Arab woman impacted by the brutality of war and violence.

Due to the on-going crisis, war affected woman's mental health was already deteriorating but the economic and health crisis in Lebanon as well as the resulting instability has exacerbated their mental health problems. It is now more crucial than ever to address the mental health concerns that these women face not only to support them in overcoming their difficulties but also to assist them in influencing future generations, supporting our bottom of peacebuilding efforts in the Arab world.

We have started implementing three drama therapy programs simultaneously reaching over 80 war affected Arab women from different nationalities. Intisar Foundation was able to positively impact the lives of these women through the implementation of the updated 12 week drama therapy program at Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut, Lebanon and Anamil Center, Bchemoun, Lebanon.

We also took into consideration the continuous impact of COVID-19, we divided the sessions into smaller segments in addition to other several precautionary measures that were implemented. these included the following; providing masks and hand sanitizers to all women, avoiding activities that included physical contact and maintaining social distancing rules. These new changes allowed Intisar foundation to continue with its work without sacrificing the integrity and impact of the program.

Intisar Foundation's drama therapy program supports Arab woman in alleviating their symptoms of depression anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder while also enhancing self-esteem and life satisfaction. Through our programmes we psychologically support them to heal from their trauama and self-empower them to become agents of Peace in their communities.

Our programs are made possible by our wonderful donor’s winner to receive hope and resilience that will lead the way on our path to cultivate a more Peaceful Arab world.

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Jul 26, 2021
Drama Therapy for war-affected women in Shatila

By Nour Abdel Baki | Field Researcher and Coordinator

Drama Therapy session held in Shatila

During the time of Covid-19, everything has become increasingly difficult. However, Intisar Foundation pivoted and adapted to the new reality. The Drama Therapy program which was previously conducted in a 3-hour session weekly involving 20-22 women, was cut into smaller segments. Instead, each week 3 sessions were conducted with 6-7 women for 45-60 minutes each. Thanks to your generous donations in these tough times, Intisar Foundation was able to impact the lives of 22 women through the implementation of the updated 12-week Drama Therapy program in Shatila camp, Beirut, Lebanon. The program also reached 120 indirect beneficiaries.
In addition to dividing the session into smaller segments, several precautionary measures were implemented. These included: providing masks and hand sanitizers to all the women, avoiding activities that included any physical contact, and maintaining social distancing rules. These new changes allowed Intisar Foundation to continue with its work without sacrificing the integrity and impact of the program in regard to self-empowerment and healing.
The Drama Therapy program implemented by Intisar Foundation helps in relieving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder while increasing self-esteem and life satisfaction. The mental health of these war-affected women was already suffering, however in the economical and health turmoil in Lebanon and the instability arising, their mental health has taken an even bigger hit. It is now more important than ever to tend to the mental health issues that these women face, not only to help them overcome their struggles but to help them affect the upcoming generation in their journey to building Peace.
Our generous donors make our programs possible; we plant a seed of hope and resilience that will hopefully lead the way in our journey to Peace.

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