The school was refurbished and equipped in July 2003 by a grant offered by USAID.
One of the items purchased by the Grant were 6 computers to which we added another four, which enabled us to initiate at the school premises a program “Children Computer Literacy”. Its purpose is to introduce the notion of computer work to the children of the area at a young age.

Construction of a new Premises
A new premises, is under construction on a piece of land that was bought with a generous donation from H.H Sheikh Nahyan Moubarak Al Nahyan.
The new premises will include:
  - Kindergarten, Primary & Intermediate school
  - The Hasbaya Women Infirmary
  - Nursing school.
The Nursing School will be a one year program open to students who reached the intermediate fourth class & they graduate as an Assistant Nurse.

Our future plan is to develop the Nursing School to a 3 years program thus graduating specialized nurses.
 This program is a necessary opportunity to those who cannot or do not want to continue their studies. It enables them to get a profession & find a job.

The “Society of Lebanese Artisanal Cooperative 526/1”

Poverty that reigned over rural remote areas urged us to search for a way to help people to sustain themselves specially women who depended on male members of the family. So we established the “Society of Lebanese Artisanal Co-operative 526/1” in 1993, which served a wide strata of needy women most of whom became self-sufficient in spite of the fact that they didn’t have the chance to be educated and had no opportunities to work. So we planned our fund-raising activities on the basis of Artisanal and handicrafts production and marketing. We organized exhibitions locally and internationally. This policy had a double benefit of ensuring continuity for the artisan and revenue for the “Society” which enabled us to meet our responsibilities.

The tasks were:

	Grouping artisans from all the regions of Lebanon.
	Supervising the production of artisans
	Counseling and orienting artisans
	Training in Artisanal and handicrafts domain
	Organizing exhibitions to show and market the production

578 women were trained in and graduated from the school.

Lately new training sessions were added to the existing ones in the handicrafts domain opening new horizons & availing new jobs.
1- Nol Beading
2- Accessories craftwork

	Concerts
	Exhibitions
	Traditional costume shows (Abayas)
	Traditional dinners

Those events gave the region vitality and were economically beneficial and socially successful. One of the basic aims was to train young people to work together and accept each other even when their ideas conflict. This target left a remarkable impact even though in a limited area and on a limited level. Group work versus individuality, which is one of the defaults of our society, will always be our concern.

1. Languages: English for males and females, 2 classes with 15-20 students each (2 sessions/week; 2 hrs/session) for beginners.
   Classes for adults willing to learn and/or improve their English language were and still are open twice a week. The US Embassy in Beirut provided the free of charge material, books and video/cassettes and the classes are also for free.
   Earlier we arranged annually free special sessions for students sitting for official exams in remote areas like Sofar and Sharoun, which are considered central to the neighboring villages.
2. Tailoring: courses organized once every six months with maximum 22 students (2 sessions/week; 2 hrs/session).
3. Hand Embroidery: courses organized once every six months with maximum 18 students (2 sessions/week; 2 hrs/session). We depend on catalogues and CDs for new modern designs.
4. Painting on silk: Maximum six students organized upon request.
5. Machine Embroidery: two classes with 2 students each (2 sessions/week; 4 hrs/session. For this activity, last year we had 32 apprentices 8 of which continue till April 2004.
   
   

   Continuous training in the handicrafts domain is still taking place with concentration on machine embroidery; to respond to market demand & trainees willingness. Every year 70-80 women are graduating in different technical skills. Two new Technical trainings are added since last year:

   1. Make-up sessions
   2. Hair Dressing sessions

   Our graduates are finding jobs easily & sometimes are working on their own. Most of the time, those who excel from among them become employees at the Society atelier. Their production competes with the most refined international Handicrafts production & the success of our exhibitions all over the world is the evidence.
   In 2007 the Society received a generous donation from H.H Sheikha Jawaher wife of H.H Sheikh Sultan Qassimi governor of Sharja Principality.
   
   The donation enabled the Society to buy a piece of land in Aley to build a “Center for Women Vocational Training” embracing the Technical School,  a hall for a permanent Exhibition & a Pavillion for events. The donation realized our dreams in locating our Society in descent headquarters.
   We will soon publicize the plan on this site.
   

   ---

WE advocate:

	The necessity of the Lebanese women to be incorporated in public service.
	The learning and benefiting from others’ experience.
	The Promotion of practical workings of institutions.
	Women Participation in decision-making.
	Following Democracy and Law on the national and the international levels. We believe that they are the principle requirements to organize the world, spare humanity the atrocities of wars and make the World a better one.

Lebanese Women Leadership is the question. Can a Lebanese woman be a leader?! Historically the answer is yes and currently she has to be given the opportunity and this is what the LWLC will be working for.

The status of women in Lebanon still needs a lot of work on the level of rules and regulations as well as on the public opinion specially the awareness of women themselves of their rights.

The program “Strengthening Non-Governmental Organizations in Lebanon” is the common current event we (GLC & LWLC) are coordinating. In May-June six ladies representing six NGOs in the six regions of Lebanon will have the chance of participating in this program. They will extend their experience to other local NGOs by training them & organizing pertaining workshops. Each participant will be responsible for the region she represents. An American follow-up committee will visit Lebanon few months after the end of the program.

In this context we organized a campaign advocating women political quota funded by AMIDEAST in November 2004. The campaign consisted of:

1. Petition signature for Constitution amendment (Visit to 128 Deputies)
2. Awareness Campaign (Billboards plastering
3. Media (TV , Radio stations)
4. Popular Campaign ( Flyers distribution in the streets, Malls & public places)
5. Activity Documenting (Book publishing المرأة شريك أساسي في القرار السياسي)

The application we submitted to AMIDEAST expressed our belief in women role & complimented our activity in this field. Here we find it useful to mention its head lines:
Believing in equality & equal chances& in an era where intellect, capacity, education & knowledge are the criteria, there is no justification for discrimination against women. In Lebanon, in particular, women gained credibility due to their ability to achieve high standards in education, business & administration.
Those facts enhanced women status in all fields of social & economical life but not the political one.
Political involvement of women is a national duty & human rights at the same time & the way to facilitate this role is the adoption of the quota system as a transitional period. This is also a call for public responsibility balance, where men & women share the duty. The cornerstone for a typical society is giving the opportunity to every willing capable person to participate in decision making through Democratic practices.

 
The campaign added to earlier Women efforts resulted in including Women political Quota in the new electoral Law which unfortunately is not yet ratified because of the political situation in Lebanon.

	1487 examined
	1933 re-consulting

The number of patients from 11/12/2002 till 1/8/2003 is: 1788

	690 examined
	1098 re-consulting

The number of patients from 2/8/2003 till 15/1/2004 is: 805

	193 examined
	612 re-consulting

Laboratory services were rendered to 293 patients.
The Doctors are working under contacts with the Society with symbolic fees. The patients pay symbolic fares.

New statistics
2006-2007, number of visiting patients 2142
Drs with symbolic fees:
Ludmella Tawil
Laure Malek Sabah Karam
Marielle Nammour
Ala’ Ramadan
Shourouk Alame’

Title

Focus: Rights are directly related to accountability from the leader, politician, to the policeman. Duties are directly related to transparency and the net result should be good governance. After all, the three objectives are tightly interrelated and cannot be isolated from rights and duties. It is a chain maintained and fortified by citizens and public awareness


Until then, we need to educate the public about their rights and duties; we need to introduce to them concepts of accountability and transparency. People need to practice their rights and duties; they need to know that they are citizens who have certain rights and at the same time they have duties; one of the basic rights is to get what they are entitled to without any interference or wasta; one of their basic duties is to respect laws and to watch on the officials who are running public affairs and holding them accountable. We will try to do that through the production of a play.

Medical Awareness: Medical awareness is a yearly program aimed at raising awareness in various topics:
• Hygiene
• Smoking
• Vaccination
The medical awareness meetings are always organized with the collaboration of doctors, specialists, psychologists & sociologists.

The medical awareness campaigns are organized in collaboration with the minister of health (lately Breast Cancer Campaign Oct- Nov 2007), minister of Social affairs, Embassies & Civil Societies.

War Relief Campaign
Food supplies, medications , clothes , mattresses, hygienic products, school bags donated by UAE Red Crescent, Kuwait red Crescent were distributed to over 50 villages.

	Family history, inheritance since Feudalism
	Personal relations, common interests and power
	Lately unfortunately money, the most powerful with the economic crisis

The feudal lords are transformed now to money lords and in between there were the warlords during the war years. In the three classes women are absent. No doubt that the customs and heritage of feudal families give priority to male members of the family, they are ready to accept female representation only if males are not there or not ready yet, age wise. During war years women’s role in military action was limited to few individuals who participated, so no women were rewarded by parliamentary or ministerial positions. While in civil life their role was great in conserving and backing the family and clan morally and economically.

The involvement in politics on individual basis, still impose great efforts and personal interference in matters like mediating, helping and serving. Moreover a politician should be present in social events like weddings, funerals etc… The alternative is Parties, which is the basic foundation for political life and which is still the sheer cover of personal political leadership. This means that political involvement implies receiving people at home and hospitality is the measure of a successful politician. The traditional term “open house”; and lately with less appreciation from people, open office is the essential factor for success. No matter at what time of the day or the night a dedicated politician must be ready to serve. This can be -and it should be -changed by strengthening political parties and passing laws of obligatory candidacy from within a party or organization. Equality in front of the law will also eradicate mediating. When laws and regulations give citizens their rights then the politician will do his/her right job in legislating and planning for the country and not to consume time and energy for individuals. Moreover the system enhances the status quo by distributing public positions as shares on communal and regional basis. Instead it should be based on qualifications and efforts and accountability should be there for judgment. Clan and tribe still dominate the political scene and they usually prefer to choose men.
(It is a terrible contradiction between the wide step of social progress and the prevailing political stagnation).

There are women who are potential political leaders and they should be given the chance to show their talents and to overcome social, political and psychological pressures. They should be encouraged to get involved in political life with a practical and moral push to those who are still hesitant and have the potential. We expect numerous women to be nominated for the next elections and the new ministry.

Group work v/s individualism: we trained people in villages to work in groups and to accept each other. We showed them how effective is coordination and co-operation to overcome individualism and its negative impact on society.

This Program was at the basis of the establishment of the Committee for women Political Empowerment 15/AD. Its aims & objectives:

1. Women Awareness of her rights
2.  Duty to participate in “National Decision Making”.
3. Women & men have similar roles in building the Society & the Nation
4. The roles of men & women compliment & meet to build a better society 

The advocacy was enriched by three Conferences:
- UNESCO Palace- Beirut 26/6/2004 المرأة في الإستحقاق الحكومي
- House of Lawyers 21/9/2004 التشريعات التي تسهل دخول المرأة الحياة السياسية

- UNESCO Palace 21&22/5/2006