Lebanon Trust’s 2014 results |
Again this year Lebanon Trust volunteers went to Lebanon to work at the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf (FAID) in Beirut and to deliver financial support to the kindergarten of the refugee camp of Chatila, in Beirut. The total amount donated to these institutions slightly exceeded last year’s.
The situation facing our volunteers this year was even more difficult than in 2013. Atrocities and war from neighbouring Syria spill across the border to Lebanon, creating a very volatile climate. The city of Tripoli, in the north of the country, is locked in conflict. Syrian refugees now represent more than one-quarter of the total population of Lebanon, causing friction with both Lebanese and Palestinian residents.
Our volunteers’ mobility was curtailed for security reasons.
Like every year, our donors will receive a detailed financial report.
This is a summary of our achievements in 2014:
Results in a nutshell
- Funding for 1 year of speech therapy for the students of the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf (FAID) in Beirut. The speech therapist teaches them how to speak and lip-read, giving them the chance to communicate with the wider world and build an independent life. Total: $ 8000
- Ongoing financial support to the kindergarten of the refugee camp of Chatila in Beirut: $ 3000
- Evaluation of the work done by the Institutions we support and discussion of their plans and needs; meetings with FAID’s new management (President of the Board, Treasurer, Director), with the staff and pupils; further definition of our mode of collaboration
- Field visit to the Chatila refugee camp in Beirut and its kindergarten, meeting with the teachers and the children; inspection of the electricity generator premises, financed last year by Lebanon Trust
- Refurbishment, painting, maintenance, reconstruction work at the premises of the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf: girls’ dormitory, parent-teacher conference room, teachers’ office, including windows and doors; maintenance of playground, garden, courtyard, outside perimeter; pruning of all trees, removal of dead or dangerous branches and plants. The tools and material have been purchased by Lebanon Trust, and the work carried out by the volunteers themselves and by local staff paid by Lebanon Trust: $ 560.
- Organisation of a visit to FAID by a 10-person delegation from the Symantec Corporation’s Beirut office; the company will help upgrade the school’s computer infrastructure.
Results project “Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf” – more details
For the seventh consecutive year, in 2014 we worked at the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf (FAID) in Beirut. Throughout the year, changes in the management and in the organisation of the Institute have taken place, aimed at a more streamlined and efficient structure. We met the new Board and the new Director, and are impressed by their enthusiasm and energy. We keep in close contact with them.
FAID hosts a growing number of refugees from Syria, assigned to the school by the Lebanese government or referred by local NGOs. Many of these children have never attended school, having come of age when the war had already started. Also, the traumatic events they have witnessed are likely to have a lasting impact on many of them. Two such children are Mohamad and Samia, brother and sister, respectively 9 and 11 years old. They fled Syria with their parents and now live in a refugee camp in Beirut. They are both deaf; both suffered developmental and psychological problems. When she arrived, Samia did not communicate at all. It took teachers months of work before she started to interact with her surroundings. FAID provided both children with hearing aids, and their family with some material help.
Apart from the work on FAID’s premises, we organised a party with cakes and balloons and a screening of “Shaun the Sheep”, a British stop-motion animated series, which was greatly appreciated by the children, the teachers and the volunteers.
Results project “Chatila refugee kindergarten” – more details
The Chatila refugee camp in Beirut, originally established in 1949 for refugees from Palestine and already dilapidated and chaotic, is now unimaginably crowded because of the intense influx of refugees from Syria. This creates attrition between the original population and the new arrivals; there is a palpable tension in the air. Despite the circumstances, the kindergarten that Lebanon Trust supports offers a rare environment that is calm, cheerful, tidy and safe to its dozens of children. They learn Arabic and English. The staff show an extraordinary motivation, making the best out of the very scarce resources at their disposal. This is also very motivating for us and for our donors.
We have inspected the premises of the electricity generator, refurbished last year with a grant from Lebanon Trust, and donated a further $ 3000.
Funding
The necessary funds have been raised through:
- Private donations
- Corporate sponsorships
- Events: parties, raffles, quiz nights, disco nights, etc
- Sponsorship cards
- Collection cans
Our special thanks to these friends:
| Maria Cristina Ferraro & Alessandro Bertolotto (Genoa, Italy) | Martina Merkle (Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Giovanna Pellegrini (Genoa, Italy) | Alison Ferguson & Ruedi Hirt (Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Fam. Devia (Genoa, Italy) | Robert Sumner & Silvan Schneller (Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Romilda e Nino Cocurullo (Genoa, Italy) | Customers and staff at St Peregrines GAA Club, Blanchardstown (Dublin) |
| Enrico e Lilli Bertolotto (Genoa, Italy) | Symantec Corporation Limited (Dublin); and, in particular, Jayne Delahunt, Annette Dempsey, Tracy Forde, Brid and Mick Halpin. |
| Natale e Carla Ferraro (Genoa, Italy) | May Ramjaun (London, UK) |
| Fam Vigna-Mori (Savona, Italy) | Griffin Digital Print (Dublin) |
| Fam. Zappavigna (Genoa, Italy) | The Castle Bar (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Fam. Parodi (Genoa, Italy) | Paddy Powers Bookmakers (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Fam. Della Penna (Genoa, Italy) | The athlets of “Born to Run 10k” 2014 (Ireland) |
| Silvana Falaschini Margotti (Livorno, Italy) | Niall Nolan of Nolan’s Garage (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Fam. Prola-Smith (London, UK) | O’Leary Blinds and Curtains (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Ole Vossnack (Zurich, Switzerland) | Jim & Theresa, Cassidy’s Restaurant (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Giovanna Ferraro (Genoa, Italy) | Brogue Inn Restaurant (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Catherine Poeydomenge & Adrian Ruf (Zurich, Switzerland) | Ryle and De Lacey, pharmacists (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Sean P. Moran (Tralee, Ireland) | Mark Tiehan (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Joe Flynn, Rahoonane (Tralee, Ireland) | Austin Stacks (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Griffin Butchers (Tralee, Ireland) | Focus Shop (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Meadowlands Hotel (Tralee, Ireland) | C.B.S. Quiz Team 2014 Winners (Tralee, Ireland) |
| Paul’s Barber Shop, 123a Old County Road, Crumlin (Dublin) | The people of St. Peter’s Crescent, Walkinstown (Dublin) |
| McCormack’s Cycle Centre, 31a, Dorset Street Lower (Dublin) | Eddy McHugh’s Shop, Patrick’s Road in Greenhills (Dublin) |
| O’Neill’s House of Sport, Walkinstown Avenue (Dublin) | The Yellowstone Football Club (Dublin) |
| Paul Reid Dental Laboratories (Dublin) | Kelly’s Welding & Engineering Supplies Ltd, Tallaght (Dublin) |
| Myles Heal (Dublin) | Paul Byrne (Dublin) |
| Acquelino Deaton, Director, Pyrascaf Mobile Towers, Safe Solutions, www.pyrascaflimited.com (Dublin) | QK Living Kitchens Dublin, Greenhills Industrial Estate, Greenhills Road, Walkinstown (Dublin) |
| Mr & Ms Dillon, The Dillon Garden, 45 Sandford Road, Ranelagh, www.dillongarden.com (Dublin) | Patricia & Eric Whelan and family (Dublin) |
| Mick Durkin of Thai Garden Restaurant, Church Avenue, Blanchardstown (Dublin) | Jerry’s Newsagent, Mountview (Dublin) |
| Anthony “Anto” Lyons (Dublin) | Deirdre & Eddy Rooney and family (Dublin) |
| Mick Campbell of KMA Facilities Management Ltd (Dublin) |