Looking into the Brightside

A cheerful, happy enthusiastic 32 years’ Palestinian woman Suzan, walks around the camp surveying cases in an attempt to serve her community in Beddawi camp, north Lebanon. Based on UNRWA Lebanon, Beddawi camp was established in 1955 and is located on a hill some 5 kilometers north-east of Tripoli. Throughout its first five decades, the camp attracted large numbers of...

Getting out of my Comfort Zone

A divorcee woman, a mother of an eleven years old boy, at the age of 27 waiting for her father to give her allowance. That’s how Walaa describes her situation before joining to be one of the 120 women working in community kitchens to produce and distribute hot meals to food insecure households in Ein el Hilwe, Beddawi and Rashidieh...

Women in Lebanon join forces to fight food poverty in their communities

“This community kitchen came as an opportunity for all the women at the camp to have the chance to work, help their community, and learn new skills. There is nothing better than bringing people together to serve their community.” 27-year-old, Mariam works as a kitchen manager at an established women-led community kitchen in Beddawi Palestinian Refugee camp in Tripoli. The community...

Women Supporting Women

One hundred and twenty women are engaged in the preparation and distribution of hot meals for vulnerable families living in Ein el Hilweh camp (Saida) and Beddawi camp (Tripoli) under “Empowering Women And Addressing Food Insecurity Through Women-Led Community Kitchens Project.”. The project is implemented by INITIATE in partnership with Women Program Association (WPA), with support from UN Women, funded...

Starting With Fresh Eyes

“It took me few days to realize how bad the situation in my community is,” says Safa, “before joining the project, I thought I knew my community and surroundings well.  Honestly, I thought we were all managing these harsh situations in the same way. I realized that the situation was much worse than it seemed. My neighbors, whom I thought...

Muneer – Journey Of Change

“Equality, respect, and responsibility”, said Muneer’s mom, “those words would sum up my son’s experience in the 1001 Nights program. Looking back at Muneer’s character and how it evolved through the program, I can’t but feel really happy and proud of the kid he is today. Muneer, like most kids his age, thought that being a boy gave him the...

Rola Jawad

Rola Jawad is a teacher at Anamil Al Saghira nursery, which is one of INITIATE’s partners in implementing 1001 Nights program. She is the coordinator of the educational program for four different classes. Her experience in the domain started in 1993. She has a certificate in nursing education from the Centre for Information and Practices for Children’s Nursery. “Most of the...

Mohammad Al Turk

“Every story has its own adventures, which is amazing. Each time we watch a new story in class, I leave with one thousand and one ideas in my head to go around exploring the world. It is like I get to fly and experience a new adventure every time while remaining in my place”, says Mohammad Al Turk, 11-year-old Palestinian...

Mayara

"From 1001 Nights, I learned the meaning of trust among friends. I have always thought that it was impossible to trust anyone, but these stories have shown me that friends are here to make our lives easier and that we can have faith and trust in them", says Mayara Hussien Al Ali, a 12 years old Syrian student at

Lynn Zein

“I used to be a judgmental person, I am not anymore! Criticizing people is a bad habit. I hate to judge or to be judged based on my looks, style, accent, or where I come from. You can be whatever you want and wear whatever you like without caring what others would say. I guess I am saying this now...