Lebanon TrustLebanon Trust (Ireland) – Helping Children CHY 19091 |
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The garden party will be in favour of Lebanon Trust, and in particular for the children of the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf in Beirut, Lebanon. Thank you all for your generosity!
On Thursday July 27th our Chairman Christy Kinsella – with the help of many generous friends – ran a cake sale and raffle in Dublin. It was a very well-attended event, with a great participation throughout the day.
More than €920 was raised, between cash and donations at the tills.
Many, many heartfelt thanks to everyone who donated cakes, prizes and to those who purchased cakes and tickets. We are overwhelmed by your support.
Symantec will match your generous donations.
Lebanon Trust’s marvellous Noel Conway & friends will have a street collection in Tralee on Saturday June 17, from 9 am to 6 pm. Anyone willing to lend a hand is more than welcome! Please contact Noel at 0877562436. Thank you all for your generosity and support!
This year The Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf (FAID) expanded its activities, in an effort to reach out more vulnerable children among not only the Lebanese, but also Syrian refugees and any other refugees living in Lebanon.
FAID’s staff have recently been in the Akkar region in the North of Lebanon and in the Bekaa valley, where they visited refugees camps and checked on children and elderly people with hearing loss. FAID is now going to provide more than 200 hearings aids for free – and also the necessary subsequent assistance and maintenance. From experience, they know that giving away hearing aids without backup and follow up in learning how to use them, maintenance etc … does no not work out.
In this regard, FAID’s goal, working together with local NGOs, is to design a simple, easy-to-deliver program, that concentrates on simple exercises around learning to hear/understand sounds; learning to speak by using speech software programs and music; thinking skills, self-esteem and survival skills. This program will be taught in simple task-oriented workshops to dedicated volunteers from the Syrian Refugee community in FAID. The motto of this work is: learn a little, teach a little, learn a bit more, teach a bit more.
Late last year we wrote about Warda and Assad, and their amazing story.
The two deaf children were found by John Van Rooy in dire conditions in an informal camp for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. John is a young American who was working as a volunteer in the Bekaa Valley. He was moved by what he saw, and started a crowdfunding collection to be able to secure education for the children. In just 3 months he managed to raise enough for Warda and Assad, who started studying at The Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf, attending school as boarder (with all meals and overnight stay).
Now John and his friend and fellow teacher Sean Tribe are going back to Lebanon. In order to support more Syrian children, whose lives have been devastated by war, he has started a collection – please visit the page and contribute if you can!
March 2017: a meeting with Jody Clarke, Media and Public Affairs officer for the UN Refugee Agency in Dublin
Lebanon Trust had a meeting in Dublin with Jody Clarke, Media and Public Affairs officer for the UN Refugee Agency in Ireland. A very useful and fruitful discussion – Many thanks to Jody for his time and interest!
This nice boy is Amir, 11 years old, and FAID’s most recent addition. Amir was born deaf, in Aleppo, an ancient and beautiful city in Syria that has been devastated by war.
His parents divorced and little Amir lived with his father, until they had to flee Syria for their life. His mother’s whereabouts are currently unknown; she is believed to be still in Syria. Father and son took refuge in Lebanon, where his father remarried. But Amir was mistreated at home and ran away several times, until he was found by “Home of Hope”, a Lebanese organisation caring for abandoned children, and put into FAID’s care.
Amir being visited by Dr Nemer Attieh, FAID’s resident audiologist.
At FAID Amir’s hearing was tested by the audiologist and he was fitted with hearing aids. He also started to attend school, receive speech therapy and psychological help. He is now learning how to interact with his peers and teachers, adjusting rapidly to his new, peaceful life.
Amir is a full-boarder at FAID and spends the weekends at Home of Hope.
Amir has been fitted with hearing aids.
Amir, second from left, now atteds school at FAID.
This is Aleppo, Amir’s home city, in January 2017 (photos © BBC/Jeremy Bowen)
The flags from Lebanon, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands on this card to honour our nationalities.
This beautiful, hand-made and lovingly decorated card from the children of FAID is dedicated to all our friends to have helped our projects: your heart is in the right place. Thank you!
Best wishes for a peaceful and lucky 2017 to all, and in particular to these friends, who chose to celebrate Christmas and the new year with generosity:
Silvana Falaschini
Fabio & Marta Delfante-Cocurullo
Patricia Meade
Enrico & Lilli Bertolotto
Nino & Milda Cocurullo
Fam. Parodi
Giovanna Pellegrini
Carla & Natale Ferraro
MC Ferraro
Giovanni Zappavigna & family
Mick Halpin
David John Landy
Mike and Jordan Shea
Lilliput Stores in Dublin
Symantec Corporation, Dublin