SOCIO ECONOMIC PROGRAMME REHABILITATION FOR SOUTHERN LEBANON.
A brief note on achievements by end of April 2001.
1. Cooperatives:
Contacts were initially established with 45 existing cooperatives in the Kadas of Bint Jbeil, Marjeyoun, Hasbaya and Nabatyieh. No criteria was set on the orientation of cooperatives, however, most of them turned out to be agricultural. The cooperatives are all official, and most of them did survive 22 years of occupation and virtual marginalization.
Three training workshops were held on "Management and Project Design". 40 out of the 45 coops participated in the three day workshops held in each of the Kadas of Bint Jbeil, Marjeoun, and Hasbaya.69 representatives of the 40 coops attended the training workshops.
The outcome of the workshops, was a systematic process of project identification, where over 30 project proposals were submitted to the Programme for funding.
The contracts of the 25 projects will be signed before mid May, following an extensive process of studies, and follow up.
2. Youth:
To ensure sustainability, all the principal community Development Centers (CDCs) of he Ministry of Social Affairs in the area were visited, with the aim to establish contact and possible partnerships in the Youth sector.
Out of existing nine principal CDCs, eight potential centers were identified for this purpose: Bint Jbeil, Aita al Chaab, Hasbaya, Marjeyoun, Khiam, Tebnin, Meis al Jabal and Chebaa'.A workshop for facilitators was organized for the eight CDCs. Participants were the respectively assigned MOSA officers. Those officers would eventually follow up Youth activities with the programme, aiming to establish Youth Clubs in the area.
18 representatives of eight CDCs attended the workshop, in which they reached into common grounds on the objectives of the youth clubs and the relation between the CDCs and the Youth Clubs.
Extensive Youth activities were initiated in the area. That includes tree planting, cleaning campaigns, and installation of garbage containers in the villages. A core group in the community of each CDC was identified, to establish a Youth Club. 176 youngsters (age group 14 to 19 years old) currently constitute the core group of the established eight Youth Clubs.
Eight "one day" strategic planning workshops were scheduled to enable the eight groups to set up their objectives and future activities. Three out of the eight SPWs were already carried out in April. The eight workshops will be completed before the end of this May.It should be noted that following establishment of the eight Youth Clubs, work will commence to address villages with antenna CDCs, which are around ten in the area.
3. Municipalities:
Nine municipalities that exist within the Programme's area of operation were contacted, usually in the neighboring villages of the recently liberated areas.Each municipality completed a questionnaire aimed to assess the its situation.
A workshop was organized on : "Role of Municipalities in Community Development".17 representatives of the nine municipalities participated in the workshop.
The outcome of the workshop is currently utilized by the programme to set up a suitable strategy of intervention.
4. Coordination:
Upon initiation of the Programme, a monthly coordination meeting is held with all NGOs operational in the area.
he field staff of eleven NGOs attend the meetings.
The Organizations are : World Vision, Mennonite, Caritas, Secours Populaire, Mercy Corps, CHF, SEP, MECC, ICU, Jihad al Binaa' and lately UNICEF.The NGOs are now discussing the possibility of implementing a joint activity all together.
Information:
Information on socio-economic data of the villages is regularly collected, to be soon introduced into a website
The Programme also forms a functional entry point for NGOs and other UN Agencies, interested in carrying out activities in the area. Organizations contact the Programme in Tyre with the aim to collect general data on the socio-economic situation/activities. UNIDO, IFAD, FAFO, GEF are all good examples on cooperation with other organizations interested in assisting the region.
|
Lebanon
