SOS Social Centres in Lebanon

In Lebanon there are currently 3 Social Centres for children and the local community, Ksarnaba, Beirut and Mkalles.  Many SOS Social Centres operate via Family Strengthening Programmes, which aim to support the wider community.  Below is some information about  the Social Centres that SOS Children runs in Lebanon:

SOS Social Centres around Lebanon: In-Depth

Ksarnaba

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

SOS Social Centre Ksarnaba/Bekaa (community support, Family Strengthening) started operating provisionally in a rented apartment in January 2005 and was moved to its new building on the SOS Children's Village premises in January 2006. Throughout the years the SOS Social Centre gained experience and established networks. For that reason costs per child could be reduced drastically and enabled the Family Strengthening Program (FSP) to provide support to 230 families (almost 1000 children) per year. The SOS Social Centre Ksarnaba/Bekaa includes a multipurpose room, library, dental clinic, mother and child primary health care unit, two offices and service areas.

Work and Achievements:

249 families including 1000 children and 375 care givers were supported by the FSP in 2009. To empower the families in their roles as caretakers, women awareness programmes continued to be organized in 2009: literacy courses, health and nutrition workshops etc. As for the children, they participated in art workshops and other recreational activities including the summer camp organized by the centre, in addition to exercises focusing on children’s rights. The volunteers continued to play an important role in the life of the centre. They participated in all the activities organized for the children: they met one day in advance and prepared their work. They were awarded a certificate from the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Arab Union for Volunteer work in recognition of their efforts.

The mother and child health care unit and the dental clinic registered 1221 cases.

Beirut

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

The SOS Social Centre Beirut (2006) is the extension of support program created after the war. The facility offers a package of services designed to ensure that children have access to essential services (e.g. educational, nutritional, health support), to support families to build their capacity to protect and care for their children (e.g. income generation, parental skills, counselling and psychological care) and strengthen support systems for vulnerable children and their families within the community and work in collaboration with local authorities.

Work and achievements:

180 families, including 523 children and 242 care givers, were supported by the SOS Social Centre in 2009. The nine widowed mothers were active all through 2009, preparing crafts sold at various exhibitions organized in Lebanon.

The year was marked by two partnerships for the FSP:  with L’Oreal and Habitat for Humanity Lebanon.

The first one provided training for the care givers in makeup and coiffure. It is expected that the eight ladies who took part in the training would be able to find well paid jobs.

Habitat was able to renovate 12 houses and transform them into healthy places of living for the families and their children.

Several income generating projects were realized this year, and they include for example: a bakery in the North of Lebanon, a grocery and a clothes shop, in the Chouf, and two projects for raising lambs in the North and Jezzine

Mkalles

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

In view of the hardship and misery of a great many of orphaned children, whose situation had become even worse as a result of both the war in Lebanon and the economic crisis, the Lebanese SOS Children's Village Association decided to establish an SOS Social Centre in Mkallès. The project aimed mainly at providing help to semi-orphaned children who not only had lost their father but also their homes, regular food supply, access to medical care and who were unable to attend school. Since all these children still have their mother and live in more or less suitable homes, it is not considered necessary to accommodate them in an SOS Children's Village. All what these families need is moral and financial support in order to enable them to stand on their own feet some day.