We see you, Lebanon
On 4 August 2020, a devastating blast happened in Beirut - a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port of the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, exploded, causing at least 160 deaths, and more than 5000 people injured, and US$15 billion in property damage, and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless.
Watch this video.
Additionally to the COVID-19 pandemic (Lebanon has had over 120 000 cases since the beginning, with 950 deaths), the country has been also dealing with a refugee crisis, having the highest number of refugees per capita and a severe economic crisis, that increases the level of vulnerability of the people that Himaya is working with. A Revolution started in the country in October 2019.
Himaya has been a long term partner of FICE International in the Safe Parks project and a member of FICE International since May 2019. The team of Himaya has been living in a constant state of instability for more than a year now. In their field work everyday they are faced with very high levels of vulnerability and misery, which has tremendous psychological effects on them. Many of the Beirut team have been personally affected specially after the Beirut Blast, as well. The team is on the verge of burnout and despair, they are losing hope and they lack motivation. Being socially isolated from their colleagues, their mental health is suffering.
FICE International and its members will provide 3 main types of support:
”We see you, Lebanon” campaign in recognition of the day-to-day work of the Lebanese social workers and psychologists in this extremely difficult situation. The idea is to collect personalized “We see you” messages from social workers in other FICE members that will be then sent to the team members of Himaya. In addition to this, drawings of children from different countries will be collected and sent to the social workers. Send scanned copies or photos of the drawings to the FICE Secretariat (fice.inter@gmail.com) together with the child’s first name, country and age. Send the personalized messages in English (or in the national language of the social worker together with an English translation) to the FICE Secretariat, as well.
Mentorship and peer-to-peer online sessions with FICE experts from different countries, who have gone through similar or other difficult situations. In these sessions the participants will exchange about the current challenges they are faced with and how to deal with their psychological and emotional effects.
Topics:
1. Self care activities in addition to supervision/ mindfulness sessions.
2. Peer to Peer mentoring around specific thematics such as:
Child Labor;
How to stay motivated when working in abuse and basic needs of children are not met;
How to support children in order to mitigate the excessive drop out of school of children due to the online learning;
Specific to working moms/how to cope with work in times of lockdowns when children are present at home.
Interested professionals should get in contact with the FICE Secretariat (fice.inter@gmail.com). They will be invited to an Introduction session, where further information will be provided regarding the current situation in Lebanon.
Then a shared online calendar will be prepared with the respective dates and topics for the sessions, where professionals will be able to choose according to their preference and availability dates and times.
Fundraising campaign among FICE International members and outside the network. Donate in the Facebook fundraiser: https://www.facebook.com/donate/380284236610198/ or through Fundraiser project page: https://makemesmile-int.org/en/himaya-2/ (information available in English, French and German). Please invite your Facebook friends to donate in the fundraiser. You can also share the fundraiser on your personal/professional facebook page, so that it reaches more people.
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