Skill-building for Unemployed Youth in Lebanon

Dear Friends,

We are excited to announce the launch of a new program called SE Factory, which is a coding bootcamp catered to helping low-income, unemployed computer science graduates improve their skills and increase their chances of getting hired.

In Lebanon, there is a growing demand for coders and developers, but employers have been unable to find qualified candidates to fill these positions.  Based on our research, it appears that while thousands of computer science graduates are looking for jobs in Lebanon, they are indeed graduating without the right skills (in some cases due to outdated curricula and unqualified instructors).

As a result, we decided to take action and create a program to strengthen the qualifications of low-income computer science students graduating from universities and technical institutes by helping them improve their hard and soft skills, and connecting them to mentors and potential employers.

We first began working on this program nearly one year ago, and since then, we have come such a long way.  We are proud to partner with Bader Young Entrepreneurs Program, which is providing sound technical, managerial, and financial support.  In addition, we have received sponsorship from Asfari Foundation and Al Mawarid Bank.  The program is also in collaboration with Berytech. 

The pilot program will be launched in three weeks, whereby up to 20 students will commit to an intensive three month, full-time training program given by our highly qualified instructor and web developer, Bassem Dghaidy (who taught himself how to code at the age of twelve!) 

Throughout these months, students will be challenged in ways they have not experienced before, and will be given direct opportunities to meet and mingle with a wide network of companies in the tech ecosystem.  By the end of the program, we hope to be able to place our students in challenging and fulfilling jobs within the tech community in Lebanon.

We aim to replicate this program throughout Lebanon starting 2017, potentially reaching hundreds of students in Tripoli, Nabatiyeh, Mount Lebanon, and the Bekaa.

We look forward to updating you about our progress in the coming months.

Thank you for your continued support!

Dear Friends,

We hope you are all doing well despite the tragic events of the past week.

This issue of at-risk youth is very dear to our hearts at Nawaya, and the primary purpose of Nawaya’s mission is to invest in youth and give them alternatives to getting involved in crime, violence, drugs, and extremism.

We are working on new programs for 2016 to continue to address this issue and look forward to sharing them with you in the coming months.

In the meantime, over the past three months, our youth have continued to benefit from programs to develop their talents.

In October, we held a very special event called “NawayaTalks: The Untold Stories of the People of Beirut” whereby our youth not only showcased their talents on stage, but we invited some of Nawaya’s youth, mentors, and volunteers to share with us personal stories of how they overcame various challenges and struggles.

The event was a major success; our speakers and performers inspired the audience, causing many tears as well as laughter, and shedding light on an individual’s incredible ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Their stories proved to us the importance of the work we do every day, to help support those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and help prevent them from falling through the cracks. Our speakers had the will to overcome on their own, but many others do not.

Beyond that, we continue to spread the word about our work beyond Lebanon. Over the past three months, Nawaya presented in Kurdistan, Singapore, and Finland!

We are constantly grateful for the support we receive from individuals within and outside Lebanon, and look forward to updating you about our exciting new partnerships and programs in just a few months.

Thank you again and best regards!

Dear Supporters,

We've been working on something very exciting over the past few months... an event in Beirut on October 3rd that will feature inspiring stories of Nawaya's youth, mentors, volunteers, and members of the community, each of whom will be sharing personal details of their lives, the challenges they have faced, and how they overcame them.

In addition, our youth will be providing the entertainment and will be showcasing their talents to the audience.  The social space will provide the opportunity for the audience and guests to interact with and network with our youth.

We are grateful for Patchi's ongoing support since January 2015, and would like to also thank our other sponsors, including Dunkin Donuts, Virgin Radio Lebanon, Maliks Bookshop, and Toastmasters.

To stay updated about the event, make sure to check out the event page here.

We hope many of you can join us on Saturday, October 3rd!  For those of you outside of Lebanon, stay tuned for the videos of the talks, which will be uploaded soon after the event.

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In other Nawaya news, our youth engaged in an exciting community service activity in June whereby they beautified their neighborhood by painting up a bridge.  Check out some photos below.

Nawaya was also represented at the Start-Up Lebanon Conference in New York in May, as well as in Kurdistan during a social entrepreneurship training whereby we shared our experience with Iraqi and Kurdish women. 

Just recently, one of our supporters and volunteers, Abir Hanna, climbed Machu Picchu for us in Peru and raised over $5000 for our youth.

We have big and exciting changes coming up in the next few months, which will enable us to reach hundreds more youth in 2016.  Thanks as always for your continued support, and stay tuned!

Dear Supporters,

Over the past 3 months, we've had some great developments which we'd like to share with you:

-- Our talented fashion designer, Nadeen, has been hired to instruct Khaldoun, a younger aspiring designer in our program.  They have been meeting for several hours each month, and Khaldoun's talent is blossoming!

-- A group of high school students from a fashion club in New Jersey heard about Nadeen and decided to hold a fundraiser to help cover her monthly tuition!

-- Hovsep, our violinist, had the opportunity to perform at a UNESCO event as well as with the Lebanese National Conservatory recently; he also now has 4 students whom he is instructing!

-- Omar, our football star, got the opportunity to join an intensive football training program led by the coaches of Real Madrid at the American University of Beirut!

-- Pierre and Rawad, both aspiring actors, took a workshop with leading director Lucien Bourjeily; Pierre also got to audition for a feature film and he was selected for a role!

-- Rana has been continuing to create mosaics with the support of Handmade by Raja, and sold several of her pieces at a Mother's Day exhibition at Dar Bistro and Books cafe in Hamra recently.

-- We gathered 25 of our youth to attend a professional networking session at AltCity where they shared their dreams and aspirations, and received support and feedback from guests.

-- We have plans to launch a tech program for youth to get them involved in coding, robotics, and engineering in a hands-on, interactive environment -- stay tuned for updates in the coming months!

We have many more upcoming plans and events for the summer, so we'll be sure to share them with you during our next report.

Have a great summer and thank you for your continued support!

Dear Friends,

Our year has been off to a great start.  Here are some updates and highlights:

-- We signed our first official partnership with PATCHI, a luxury chocolate brand here in Lebanon, which has committed to supporting about 20 of our youth this year!

-- We have recruited 6 new interns for the year, all who will support us in graphic design, social media, youth recruitment, mentor training, and marketing!

-- We have formed our first volunteers committee which includes high school students, university students, fresh grads, and young professionals.  This committee will be helping us plan Nawaya's biggest event at the end of summer.  

-- We held a Nawaya Day for several of our youth last month, where they learned Capoeira and attended a workshop about tolerance.

-- Several youth have been showcasing their skills and generating an income from it.  For example, Hovsep has been called in to perform at a few establishments, and our thai-boxers have been offering self-defense classes to the community to help them cover their expenses to Thailand (to attend the championships in a couple of weeks!)

More exciting events and news to come.  Thanks for your continued support and stay tuned!

Best regards,

The Nawaya Network