Manara Center
"Inspirational Center for Teens and Young Adults"
Wider context:
In the Bekaa Valley, there are a growing number of dis-satisfied and under-educated youth. Their future is extremely uncertain with many, with boys forced to work as laborers at an early age and girls having to enter into marriage. Most NGOs operating in the Bekaa Valley are focusing on children and women, meaning what aid there is does little to address adolescents' needs and growing frustration.
Building upon our existing community center partnership in Saadnayel with Salam LADC and the success of other innovative programs such as ClimbAid, we aim to establish a community center geared specifically towards teenagers and young adults. Combining sport, music, art, technology and vocational training along with professional psycho-social support and inspirational leadership, we aim to create a space for those who are most left behind, and those on whom the future depends, to work together in inspiring each other towards a life beyond war, labor and the confines of a settlement.
Inspiration and previous experience:
For the past 12 years Salam LADC has worked on the ground in Lebanon to strengthen and encourage local communities and displaced peoples to work together across sectarian divides to meet their civic needs. Since 2016, with the ongoing conflict in Syria and influx of over one million refugees, Salam has expanded its scope to provide a unique platform for volunteers, grassroots initiatives, and donors to coordinate their efforts towards assisting and empowering refugee and other vulnerable populations across Lebanon, whilst also being a crucial link to major local and international actors.
From September 2017, in partnership with Lighthouse Peace Initiative (LPI), Salam launched the first of a pioneering new network of community centers. Embedded within Saadnayel 057, the center is a focal point for pioneering a new form of grassroots aid allocation through engaging the communities own agency and skills to collectively meet their specific needs - supported by highly-qualified staff, and a team of local and international volunteers. The center now provides a wide range of services from English and Arabic classes, homework support, tool sharing, vocational and I.T training, to music, yoga, psychosocial support,, and first-aid training, it runs over 100 events each month attended by over 1000 people.
However, from attendance statistics and interviews with those in the community, it is clear that those aged 16-25 are least engaged with the Saadnayel center. This stems in part from a community and aid focus on younger school-age children and vulnerable women, but also reflects the growing burden faced by an age group who are increasingly relied upon to provide an income for the family as labourers, or married off to start families of their own. It is also apparent that many desire a greater space for independence and development of their own talents, skills and passions away from their everyday struggle for their families subsistence.
This became even more apparent through working with the launch of Swiss NGO ClimbAid’s first mobile climbing unit. Mounted on the back of a truck, it moves in rotation around eighteen settlements teaching children and young adults climbing techniques, as well as encouraging the necessary teamwork involved within a safe and competitive environment. Despite initial hesitancy, the wall has proved a remarkable success especially among teenagers and young adults, almost half the 30-35 average participants, with some so passionate they now work to instruct others. It was also clear that for many this was the first opportunity of its kind they had been given.
From the experience of LPI Corp’s involvement with both organizations, as well as extensive personal experience from over three years of working with the refugee crisis in Europe, the USA, Turkey, and Lebanon, it became clear that a separate and specialized center was needed dedicated to providing teenagers and young adults a safe space in which they can participate in recreational activities and different mediums of expression, as well as be inspired to develop their own skills and passions; recognizing that they are the ones to whose fate the future falls.
The Manara Center:
Expanding upon the first community centre and our existing partnership with Salam, our vision is to create a dedicated community centre for teens and young adults in the Bekka. It will combine under one roof a diverse range of professionally run programs from dedicated sports and climbing areas to music, art, theatre and vocational training programs. Not only do we aim to provide a much-needed safe space away from the everyday confines of settlement life, but also to enable and inspire these young people's own passions constructively through vocational and technological training.
The location and scope of the centre will be such that it is easily accessible with transportation options provided to and from settlements in the surrounding area. At approximately 5000 square feet, we aim to build modular components which will enable easy adaptability of the space as well as ensuring the utility of the resources long into the future. Whilst the exact running of the programs is dependent upon the input of the community as well as support from regional and international partners and donors; below are the core areas it will focus upon and their respective key objectives:
Sport:
The unique capacity for sports to reach across everyday divides and unite people in a common experience, as well as encourage teamwork, and provide a valuable outlet for emotions to be channeled constructively, means it is widely recognized as a low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development, and peace-building efforts.
Recognizing this at Manara we will work with fully-qualified coaches, mentors, and existing sport programs to provide competitive and engaging sessions to all ages and levels. Providing a mixture of familiar as well as the challenge and excitement of new sports, we are currently looking to include: basketball, indoor soccer, volleyball, climbing, and weight training, though this will also be flexible to the input of those attending. We will also work to provide the necessary transportation and means for all those who are willing to attend, and hope teams will go on to participate in local tournaments and competitions.
We also look to build upon our experience with ClimbAid and offer avenues for those most passionate to develop their talents and attain the necessary skills to take on leadership roles and train others in sessions of their own.
Music & Dance:
Equally important as a means of expression is an engagement with music and dance. One of the most successful programs at the Saadnayel community center is a choir session run by Ahmed Adalati, who used to, before the war, run a children's theater group in a suburb of Damascus, Syria. Regularly attended by over 30 people, the sessions are full of joy and laughter, and the choir has even performed in front Lebanese government officials.
Building upon this success, as well as upon the expertise of organizations such as Musicians Without Borders in utilizing music and dance as a means of psychosocial support, we aim to have a permanent music room in the center with a range of instruments. It will be staffed in such a way as to provide a mixture of organized group sessions, and opportunities for individuals to develop their own skills. We also hope to work with other organizations and individuals to offer a range of dance classes in contemporary and classic styles from Hip Hop to Ballet to Dabkah.
As the music and dance program progresses we hope to be able to put on a range of shows and performances for the surrounding community, as well as work on partnerships for recording equipment and studio experience.
Art, Theater & Film:
Across Lebanon, theater and acting form a large part of public entertainment, like Wasl Laban’s, Playback and Interactive Theater, and are enthusiastically to participated in at a variety of levels. We want to build upon this with local theater partners to offer those attending the center opportunities to develop a range of skills from acting and production to set design and lighting.
With extensive experience in the U.S Independent film industry, we will also aim to provide opportunities for those attending to learn the necessary skills to produce their own films, from writing, directing, and acting to fully producing shots and feature films. It is hoped that not only will this give those participating a unique means of depicting their lives, but also to do so in a medium accessible to wider audiences.
Finally, we will work with local and international artists, programs, and volunteers to provide the necessary resources and training in diverse range of artistic mediums and styles.
Creative Technology & Vocational Training:
Focusing specifically on those who have fallen out of the education system or are struggling for employment, as well as being open to all those who would like to learn a new skill, the center will offer a range of vocational and technical skills training. Given the employment restrictions refugees face in Lebanon, this will also look to encourage individual enterprises through the skills taught; including a space with the relevant resources where skills can be practiced, ideas developed, and learning supported.
Working with regional and international partners a core tenet of this will be a focus on technology; from basic computer skills, to programming, graphic design, film editing and music production. We are also looking to encourage technological innovation and development amongst those attending as a means to address their communities needs. We would look to work with those who are successful at gaining these skills to further their development and gain access to grants and investment funding.
Psychosocial Care & Welfare Support:
Whilst all programs running in Manara will prioritize the development team work and self-expression within a safe and welcoming environment free from any discrimination, we recognize that this is often not enough. As such, in addition to sports and social programs, the center will also employ social workers and therapists to help with the development of programs offered as well as work directly with those attending to support them emotionally and psychologically to enable them to constructively further their interests and dreams.
The center will also act as an information point for teenagers and young adults, making them aware of and helping them to access other support they may be eligible for.
Staffing and Management:
We believe that the success of Manara will come from community-led direction combined with a professional team of staff with access to high-quality resources and the support of volunteers. As such we will build a core team around a program director who will be tasked with developing the schedule of programs running at the center and their continual management in such a way as to maximize the cemter's utility for those attending as well as encourage wider participation.
They will be supported by a team of dedicated teachers and coaches who will run and direct each program, supported in turn by social workers and a team of local and international volunteers. We will also look to employ a full-time bus and driver to provide transportation.
Assessment and Evaluation:
Both the evolving direction as well as the evaluation and assessment of programs running in the center will rely heavily on feedback from those attending. We will facilitate this through regular meetings between all involved in the center as well as more informal community events. We will also provide a open platform for suggestions and feedback to be given, and encourage those attending to get involved in any way possible with the development of the center and programs it offers.
The regular and sustained presence of volunteers within the center will also provide a valuable source of information and feedback as they will be able to give a perspective on how the overall center is running as well as on its constituent parts and developments over time.
Finally, we will take regular attendance statistics and feedback ratings for each specific program, which will be published in monthly reports, alongside professional external evaluation after the first 6 months.
Expansion & Risks:
One of the most difficult task for the center is to get the youth to initially commit to classes and training initially. Most youth do not trust NGOs for their lack of initiative in targeting their group. Also, many families rely on the teens and young adults financially-they are the largest working group in the valley.
The center second obstacle for the center is in getting the girls to attend-with the conservative society of the Bekaa Valley, girls are pushed into an early marriage, and starting a family as the only hope of survival.
To overcome these obstacles, we will rely on our staffing and our mobility. Our staffing from program director, managers, teachers and coaches will be highly qualified to recruit and inlist youth to attend the center's programs, not only from the center's surrounding area of the center but also from neighboring towns. A bus will be used to transport the youth.
Also, the center's scheduling will be very flexible so as to accommodate the largest number of young people in attending its programs.
Our Dream:
Sport is a language that everyone in the world can understand and it can bring together and unite people and communities. A goal of the center would be to bring together youth from the Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian communities in the Bekaa Valley in a competitive but safe environment. On an individual level, the goal would be to develop these youth’s skills and faculties to give them an outlet otherwise does not exist.
Art will be used as a powerful advocacy tool to communicate the youth's stories, and also provide a vehicle for self-development and personal expression, in addition to the numerous benefits of using art as a therapeutic technique.
For both sports and art the center will also provide a showcase for all the talents on a local and an international platform.
With its vocational and trade training the hope of the center is to provide a sustainable and powerful tool for the youth to face their financial hardship.
Sustainability and fundraising
The center will aim to host approximately two events a year, which will be focused on fundraising and on showcasing the centers participants' talents. These events will be broadcast on the Internet so people in the world can connect with the centers work.
The events will feature productions produced through the center such as short films, theater, sport events, concerts and exhibitions. Whilst also giving those at the center the opportunity to showcase their talent to a global audience, it is also hoped the events will raise revenue through ticket sales and online donations to go to help support the center.
In the Bekaa Valley, there are a growing number of dis-satisfied and under-educated youth. Their future is extremely uncertain with many, with boys forced to work as laborers at an early age and girls having to enter into marriage. Most NGOs operating in the Bekaa Valley are focusing on children and women, meaning what aid there is does little to address adolescents' needs and growing frustration.
Building upon our existing community center partnership in Saadnayel with Salam LADC and the success of other innovative programs such as ClimbAid, we aim to establish a community center geared specifically towards teenagers and young adults. Combining sport, music, art, technology and vocational training along with professional psycho-social support and inspirational leadership, we aim to create a space for those who are most left behind, and those on whom the future depends, to work together in inspiring each other towards a life beyond war, labor and the confines of a settlement.
Inspiration and previous experience:
For the past 12 years Salam LADC has worked on the ground in Lebanon to strengthen and encourage local communities and displaced peoples to work together across sectarian divides to meet their civic needs. Since 2016, with the ongoing conflict in Syria and influx of over one million refugees, Salam has expanded its scope to provide a unique platform for volunteers, grassroots initiatives, and donors to coordinate their efforts towards assisting and empowering refugee and other vulnerable populations across Lebanon, whilst also being a crucial link to major local and international actors.
From September 2017, in partnership with Lighthouse Peace Initiative (LPI), Salam launched the first of a pioneering new network of community centers. Embedded within Saadnayel 057, the center is a focal point for pioneering a new form of grassroots aid allocation through engaging the communities own agency and skills to collectively meet their specific needs - supported by highly-qualified staff, and a team of local and international volunteers. The center now provides a wide range of services from English and Arabic classes, homework support, tool sharing, vocational and I.T training, to music, yoga, psychosocial support,, and first-aid training, it runs over 100 events each month attended by over 1000 people.
However, from attendance statistics and interviews with those in the community, it is clear that those aged 16-25 are least engaged with the Saadnayel center. This stems in part from a community and aid focus on younger school-age children and vulnerable women, but also reflects the growing burden faced by an age group who are increasingly relied upon to provide an income for the family as labourers, or married off to start families of their own. It is also apparent that many desire a greater space for independence and development of their own talents, skills and passions away from their everyday struggle for their families subsistence.
This became even more apparent through working with the launch of Swiss NGO ClimbAid’s first mobile climbing unit. Mounted on the back of a truck, it moves in rotation around eighteen settlements teaching children and young adults climbing techniques, as well as encouraging the necessary teamwork involved within a safe and competitive environment. Despite initial hesitancy, the wall has proved a remarkable success especially among teenagers and young adults, almost half the 30-35 average participants, with some so passionate they now work to instruct others. It was also clear that for many this was the first opportunity of its kind they had been given.
From the experience of LPI Corp’s involvement with both organizations, as well as extensive personal experience from over three years of working with the refugee crisis in Europe, the USA, Turkey, and Lebanon, it became clear that a separate and specialized center was needed dedicated to providing teenagers and young adults a safe space in which they can participate in recreational activities and different mediums of expression, as well as be inspired to develop their own skills and passions; recognizing that they are the ones to whose fate the future falls.
The Manara Center:
Expanding upon the first community centre and our existing partnership with Salam, our vision is to create a dedicated community centre for teens and young adults in the Bekka. It will combine under one roof a diverse range of professionally run programs from dedicated sports and climbing areas to music, art, theatre and vocational training programs. Not only do we aim to provide a much-needed safe space away from the everyday confines of settlement life, but also to enable and inspire these young people's own passions constructively through vocational and technological training.
The location and scope of the centre will be such that it is easily accessible with transportation options provided to and from settlements in the surrounding area. At approximately 5000 square feet, we aim to build modular components which will enable easy adaptability of the space as well as ensuring the utility of the resources long into the future. Whilst the exact running of the programs is dependent upon the input of the community as well as support from regional and international partners and donors; below are the core areas it will focus upon and their respective key objectives:
Sport:
The unique capacity for sports to reach across everyday divides and unite people in a common experience, as well as encourage teamwork, and provide a valuable outlet for emotions to be channeled constructively, means it is widely recognized as a low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development, and peace-building efforts.
Recognizing this at Manara we will work with fully-qualified coaches, mentors, and existing sport programs to provide competitive and engaging sessions to all ages and levels. Providing a mixture of familiar as well as the challenge and excitement of new sports, we are currently looking to include: basketball, indoor soccer, volleyball, climbing, and weight training, though this will also be flexible to the input of those attending. We will also work to provide the necessary transportation and means for all those who are willing to attend, and hope teams will go on to participate in local tournaments and competitions.
We also look to build upon our experience with ClimbAid and offer avenues for those most passionate to develop their talents and attain the necessary skills to take on leadership roles and train others in sessions of their own.
Music & Dance:
Equally important as a means of expression is an engagement with music and dance. One of the most successful programs at the Saadnayel community center is a choir session run by Ahmed Adalati, who used to, before the war, run a children's theater group in a suburb of Damascus, Syria. Regularly attended by over 30 people, the sessions are full of joy and laughter, and the choir has even performed in front Lebanese government officials.
Building upon this success, as well as upon the expertise of organizations such as Musicians Without Borders in utilizing music and dance as a means of psychosocial support, we aim to have a permanent music room in the center with a range of instruments. It will be staffed in such a way as to provide a mixture of organized group sessions, and opportunities for individuals to develop their own skills. We also hope to work with other organizations and individuals to offer a range of dance classes in contemporary and classic styles from Hip Hop to Ballet to Dabkah.
As the music and dance program progresses we hope to be able to put on a range of shows and performances for the surrounding community, as well as work on partnerships for recording equipment and studio experience.
Art, Theater & Film:
Across Lebanon, theater and acting form a large part of public entertainment, like Wasl Laban’s, Playback and Interactive Theater, and are enthusiastically to participated in at a variety of levels. We want to build upon this with local theater partners to offer those attending the center opportunities to develop a range of skills from acting and production to set design and lighting.
With extensive experience in the U.S Independent film industry, we will also aim to provide opportunities for those attending to learn the necessary skills to produce their own films, from writing, directing, and acting to fully producing shots and feature films. It is hoped that not only will this give those participating a unique means of depicting their lives, but also to do so in a medium accessible to wider audiences.
Finally, we will work with local and international artists, programs, and volunteers to provide the necessary resources and training in diverse range of artistic mediums and styles.
Creative Technology & Vocational Training:
Focusing specifically on those who have fallen out of the education system or are struggling for employment, as well as being open to all those who would like to learn a new skill, the center will offer a range of vocational and technical skills training. Given the employment restrictions refugees face in Lebanon, this will also look to encourage individual enterprises through the skills taught; including a space with the relevant resources where skills can be practiced, ideas developed, and learning supported.
Working with regional and international partners a core tenet of this will be a focus on technology; from basic computer skills, to programming, graphic design, film editing and music production. We are also looking to encourage technological innovation and development amongst those attending as a means to address their communities needs. We would look to work with those who are successful at gaining these skills to further their development and gain access to grants and investment funding.
Psychosocial Care & Welfare Support:
Whilst all programs running in Manara will prioritize the development team work and self-expression within a safe and welcoming environment free from any discrimination, we recognize that this is often not enough. As such, in addition to sports and social programs, the center will also employ social workers and therapists to help with the development of programs offered as well as work directly with those attending to support them emotionally and psychologically to enable them to constructively further their interests and dreams.
The center will also act as an information point for teenagers and young adults, making them aware of and helping them to access other support they may be eligible for.
Staffing and Management:
We believe that the success of Manara will come from community-led direction combined with a professional team of staff with access to high-quality resources and the support of volunteers. As such we will build a core team around a program director who will be tasked with developing the schedule of programs running at the center and their continual management in such a way as to maximize the cemter's utility for those attending as well as encourage wider participation.
They will be supported by a team of dedicated teachers and coaches who will run and direct each program, supported in turn by social workers and a team of local and international volunteers. We will also look to employ a full-time bus and driver to provide transportation.
Assessment and Evaluation:
Both the evolving direction as well as the evaluation and assessment of programs running in the center will rely heavily on feedback from those attending. We will facilitate this through regular meetings between all involved in the center as well as more informal community events. We will also provide a open platform for suggestions and feedback to be given, and encourage those attending to get involved in any way possible with the development of the center and programs it offers.
The regular and sustained presence of volunteers within the center will also provide a valuable source of information and feedback as they will be able to give a perspective on how the overall center is running as well as on its constituent parts and developments over time.
Finally, we will take regular attendance statistics and feedback ratings for each specific program, which will be published in monthly reports, alongside professional external evaluation after the first 6 months.
Expansion & Risks:
One of the most difficult task for the center is to get the youth to initially commit to classes and training initially. Most youth do not trust NGOs for their lack of initiative in targeting their group. Also, many families rely on the teens and young adults financially-they are the largest working group in the valley.
The center second obstacle for the center is in getting the girls to attend-with the conservative society of the Bekaa Valley, girls are pushed into an early marriage, and starting a family as the only hope of survival.
To overcome these obstacles, we will rely on our staffing and our mobility. Our staffing from program director, managers, teachers and coaches will be highly qualified to recruit and inlist youth to attend the center's programs, not only from the center's surrounding area of the center but also from neighboring towns. A bus will be used to transport the youth.
Also, the center's scheduling will be very flexible so as to accommodate the largest number of young people in attending its programs.
Our Dream:
Sport is a language that everyone in the world can understand and it can bring together and unite people and communities. A goal of the center would be to bring together youth from the Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian communities in the Bekaa Valley in a competitive but safe environment. On an individual level, the goal would be to develop these youth’s skills and faculties to give them an outlet otherwise does not exist.
Art will be used as a powerful advocacy tool to communicate the youth's stories, and also provide a vehicle for self-development and personal expression, in addition to the numerous benefits of using art as a therapeutic technique.
For both sports and art the center will also provide a showcase for all the talents on a local and an international platform.
With its vocational and trade training the hope of the center is to provide a sustainable and powerful tool for the youth to face their financial hardship.
Sustainability and fundraising
The center will aim to host approximately two events a year, which will be focused on fundraising and on showcasing the centers participants' talents. These events will be broadcast on the Internet so people in the world can connect with the centers work.
The events will feature productions produced through the center such as short films, theater, sport events, concerts and exhibitions. Whilst also giving those at the center the opportunity to showcase their talent to a global audience, it is also hoped the events will raise revenue through ticket sales and online donations to go to help support the center.
