Our work with
the communities of Beb El Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen through the Beb El Dahab rehabilitation
and reintegration program has been an important pillar of our other initiatives.
MARCH realized that providing the youth with a holistic set of marketable skills
would enable them to access better opportunities and shift the trajectory of
their lives for the better. Furthermore, we realized that creating spaces that
would allow for positive and constructive dialogue would help bridge the
exiting social gaps.
Therefore,
MARCH decided to recreate the Beb El Dahab experience in Beirut by bringing
together marginalized youth from Chiah, Madina Riyadia and Tariq Al Jadida.
Together they would help renovate the Regional Center of Beirut’s Civil Defense
Department in Cola. Over the duration of six weeks, the team gave the facility
a complete makeover.
The selected
group was given extensive on-the-job technical and vocational training in
construction and graphic design. The young men explored numerous trades such as
plastering, electrical work and plumbing which helped them refurbish the center’s
infrastructure. The women on the other hand were given the tools to conceptualize
and develop the center’s new look. Additionally, the afternoons were dedicated
to interactive and intensive language and mathematics classes.
Get to know their stories
Following the
completion of the restoration works were completed, the center was inaugurated
in the presence of the British Ambassador, His Excellency Chris Rampling. The
success of this initiative proved that this was more than just a reconstruction
project; it is a life-long investment in these individuals’ futures. This has
encouraged us to take on the renovation and maintenance of the Bashoura Civil
Defense unit which is now in its last phases.
Our
organization is proud to have supported the Lebanese Civil Defense, an institution
whose mission and values embody MARCH’s message of unity, diversity and
coexistence and whose volunteers have selflessly dedicated themselves to this
country.
