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Since 1930 NEF has provided technical and financial assistance for agricultural development and education in health and literacy in Lebanon. Lebanon was among the first places of significant programming by the newly-named and defined Near East Foundation (successor to the Near East Relief). Later programs developed vocational training for young people and persons with disabilities. In 1995, NEF teamed up with a Lebanese non-governmental organization.
In remote rural areas, NEF and a partner organization help communities restore and expand irrigation channels and pipes to deliver clean drinking water from distant springs. These water projects enhance the lives and livelihoods of 45,000 residents. NEF assists 3,000 beekeepers to improve the processing and packaging of their products, comply with quality regulations, and expand sales. The training of village women in first aid and community health education increases access to basic health services for more than 60,000 people in 350 villages.
NEF works with local NGOs to give low income families access to training and small loans for establishing small businesses and household-based, income-generating projects.
In Tripoli, NEF promotes collaborative action to tackle the many problems of one decaying, war-damaged neighborhood. NEF's participatory assessment identified several priorities: health services, waste disposal, and jobs. Coalitions of NGOs now cooperate to address these and other issues.
Throughout Lebanon, NEF reaches out to a growing numbers of NGOs, strengthening their ability to help others. In the south, for example, NEF provides financial and technical support to a nonpolitical, nonsectarian NGO that assists children and adults injured by war and landmines to care for one another and become self-supporting.
Latest Reports From the Field:
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Reports From the Field ; Lebanon - Thursday, March 01, 2007
Community-Based Credit Revisited--10 Years of Success Helping Lebanese Help Themselves
By Rabih Yazbeck, NEF Regional Information Officer
A retail shop for Isaad -- a 40-year-old blind mother of four. A bakery for Ibrahim -- a 45-year-old man with special needs and father of two. A carpentry workshop for Asaad -- 35-years-old, also with special needs, father of three. A retail shop selling women clothes for Inaam -- a 37-year-old widow with special needs.
All small operations, they are just a few examples of what loans of US$200 to $3,000 can do to change people's lives ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Lebanon - Sunday, February 25, 2007
NEF Builds On 10+ Years of Micro-Credit Experience in Lebanon to Help Rebuild a Wartorn Country
One of the first things you notice upon entering Lebanon in this post-war period is the massive billboard campaign--"I Love Life"--appearing in English, French and Arabic. As Eugenie Christo, a young woman from the Lebanese non-governmental organization, Le Secours Populaire, explained, "We love life, we love Lebanon--both in terrible and in good times."
Eugenia was one of 35 health care and social workers, educators and researchers as well as disabled people, all with one to 10 years of pr ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Lebanon - Thursday, August 17, 2006
NEF Uses Media to Focus Attention on Suffering of Lebanese Civilians & to Raise Funds for Our Humanitarian Response
NEF Board Chair/President Linda K. Jacobs, Ph.D. presented a statement about our relief activities and additional needs at a press conference in which a number of New York-based, American Muslim, and Arab organizations called for peace and dialogue for Lebanon. The August 9 event was held at the Inter-Church Center, 475 Riverside Drive in New York City, where many religious-affiliated, international organizations have offices. It was organized and chaired by the Council on American Islamic Rel ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Lebanon - Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Heartfelt Commentary by NEF's Coordinator of Lebanese Emergency Relief Based in Amman, Jordan
(NEF--New York received this email Tuesday morning August 1. It was a personal message not intended for public information. But it was so evidently heartfelt, we believe it should be shared to indicate the depth of pain experienced by the Lebanese people--even long distance, and their appreciation for the help they are receiving thanks to NEF's contributors.)
by Rabih Yazbeck, NEF Relief Mission Coordinator for Lebanon
News headlines took me back to the past -- a dark, gloo ... (more) |
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Reports From the Field ; Lebanon - Sunday, August 06, 2006
Near East Foundation Responds to Crisis in Lebanon
NEF (Near East Foundation) is responding to the immediate and urgent needs of ten of thousands of children and families who have fled their homes and are now living in schools and parks, or are trapped in houses without electricity, running water and unable to meet basic needs for food, medical assistance and hygiene. NEF is collaborating with its long-time partners to provide this emergency assistance. Generally targeted areas are: the Bekaa, Beirut, North Lebanon, Mount Lebanon, and the south. ... (more) |
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