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Lebanon

Beirut

Our presence in Lebanon...

The Good Shepherd Sisters in Lebanon

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd have been in Haut Mein, Lebanon since 1969. They have been working in:

  • Jdeideh-Roueissat since 1998, focusing on childhood, development programs, mainly for girls;
  • the Beirut and Mount Lebanon area where they run three shelters for women and children, a dispensary, and a social centre where they help Iraqi refugee families;
  • the village of Hammana, East of Beirut where they run a kindergarten and complementary school;
  • the Bekka Valley where they run a social centre for drop out children and youth in need of social and psychological support.

They focus on creating a social environment where the rights of the children, girls and women are respected, honoured and operational. These rights are: right to survival, spiritual development, protection and active participation in society. 

Country Background 

A century and a half of migration and return have produced Lebanese commercial networks around the globe, from North and South America to Europe, the Gulf, and Africa. Lebanon has a high proportion of skilled labor compared with many other Arab countries. Lebanon's history since independence has been marked by periods of political turmoil interspersed with prosperity built on Beirut's position as a regional center for finance and trade. The Lebanese economy is service-oriented; main growth sectors include banking and tourism. According to the Central Bank of Lebanon, Lebanon posted 6.3% real growth in 2008 which is really positive regarding the 2006 recession:    - 4,3% growth rate (source CIA Factbook). On top of that, Lebanon has achieved major successes in terms of education since 98% of children aged six to 11 are at school, with no gender disparities (source UNICEF). 

However, the 2009 UN Development Report in Lebanon shows a worrying discrepancy between urban and rural literacy rates; adult literacy is the highest in the capital city Beirut- 93.9%- and among the lowest in Bekka- 83.3%. The communities served by the Sisters, including the rural areas in the Bekka Valley and Hammana, as well as the urban communities in and around Beirut, are among the most impoverished ones in the country, suffering from low income, lack of education and high unemployment. 

The Lebanese population is divided into more than 18 ethnic groups along religious and cultural lines: Muslims  represent 60% of the population (divided into Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ili, Alawite or Nusayri) and Christians account for 40% of the population (divided into Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, and Protestant). This diverse ethnic composition and Lebanon’s geographic situation have been the main sources of recurrent conflict and instability. Indeed, between 1975 and 1990, a lengthy civil war devastated the country but eventually, the Lebanese established a more equitable political system taking into account the ethnic and religious diversity. Besides, about 400,000 Palestinian refugees have lived in Lebanon since 1948 and some 50,000 Iraqi refugees are estimated to live in Beirut, following the ongoing war in Iraq. These refugee groups, among others, are not accorded the legal rights enjoyed by the rest of the population. 

With such complexity and division within the country, Lebanon has been on the fringes, and at times at the heart, of the Middle East conflict surrounding the creation of Israel, the most recent event being the 2006 conflict. Indeed, following the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers on July 12, 2006, Israel launched an offensive against Lebanon that inflicted substantial damage on lives and livelihoods and had a devastating effect on Lebanon's macro-economic and social environments. Around 1,187 people, mainly women and children, were killed, close to 4,398 were injured, and a quarter of the population, or one million individuals, was displaced. This 34-day conflict caused an estimated    $3.6 billion in infrastructure damage. Aerial bombardment flattened entire villages in the South of Lebanon and the Bekka valley and whole neighbourhoods in Beirut's southern suburbs and partially damaged or destroyed hundreds of others. (source Lebanon 2008-2009 The National Human Development Report). 

After months of political stalemate, accordance was reached in May 2008 when the Lebanese parliament finally elected General Michel Suleiman as president. Despite the political truce, the Lebanese government and population are yet to recover fully from the 2006 war and the social and economic situations remain very fragile. In order to accompany the Lebanese armed Forces and extend its assistance to civilian populations and displaced persons after the 2006 crisis, the UN Security Council has enhanced the presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in the country where it still operates today.