Atelier de Formation Ain Biacout

The objective of the Atelier is twofold: on the one hand, to contribute to the socioeconomic development of women in the local community through vocational training; and on the other hand, to promote a culture of tolerance and interfaith coexistence between Christians and Muslims present in the intervention area.

To this end, the association organizes tailoring classes within its AFAB workshop, which are complemented by parenting training sessions and moments of interfaith sharing within the community. Since 1995 AFN has supported the center through a partnership with IRAP under the Distance Support program.

DEFINITION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

In recent years, Lebanon has been experiencing a dual crisis, economic and political, further aggravated by the impact of the Covid and the Beirut port explosion. The country’s GDP – gross domestic product – has contracted by 40 percent, leading to an unprecedented increase in public debt, while the national currency, the lira, has lost 98 percent of its value, bringing inflation to 280 percent by 2023. The resulting rise in the cost of living has taken a heavy toll on the Lebanese population. As of August 2023, the World Food Program counted more than 3 million people as food insecure, while according to UNICEF 9 out of 10 households lack access to basic necessities. This situation is confirmed by a Human Development Index that, although high (95th out of 166 countries), has been steadily declining since 2005 (-4.2 percent), precisely because of the worsening economic framework and the resulting unemployment. The latter particularly affects women, as evidenced by the high rate of gender inequality.

The parallel institutional crisis, due to the absence of a president and a government, and the gradual crumbling of the bureaucratic-institutional apparatus, impacts the very functioning of the state machine, preventing it from addressing the social problems of the people.

Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, sums up the grave situation experienced by the country. The port explosion in 2020 left hundreds dead, thousands injured, and destroyed a vital economic center, dealing a blow to an already fragile economy.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

Lebanon is a Middle Eastern state, bordering Syria and Israel and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Its population, which has been declining since 2020 due to multiple crises, now numbers about 5.2 million people, 96 percent of whom are concentrated in urban areas. Notably, half of the inhabitants live in the capital, Beirut. Although about 60 percent of the population is Muslim, Lebanon is a multi-faith country with the greatest religious diversity in the Middle East region. Beirut is a multi-faith city, divided into two parts: a predominantly Muslim western part and an almost exclusively Christian eastern part. Ethnically, the vast majority of the population is Arab, while Armenian and Kurdish communities are conspicuous, and Palestinian and Syrian refugee groups are important.

The neighborhood of Aïn Biacout, the project site, has always been characterized by a “mobile” population, linked to the employment opportunities of the nearby quarry, as well as to the effects of the civil war (1975-1990). Families are very humble, often uneducated, and their management falls almost entirely on women.

COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT

The atelier consists of: an entrance hall, two bathrooms, a kitchen, two offices, a large work area equipped with sewing machines and specific machinery for tailoring production, and a loft. The staff has 12 people, including: 2 trainers, 8 seamstresses, a domestic worker and a social worker.

The atelier is open Monday through Friday; trainers take care of the professional training of 30 seamstresses per year, while 8 professional seamstresses are paid to produce the artifacts that are then sold by IRAP to increase the financial sustainability of the entire project.

IMPLEMENTED ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES

• – Vocational training in tailoring (sewing, crochet and embroidery) for 30 women
• – Professional placement of participants
• – Sale of handicraft products
• – Formative and community sharing meetings (parenting, interfaith tolerance, ...)
• – Social-psychological support for about 100 women each year

BENEFICIARIES

The direct beneficiaries of the project are more than 140 vulnerable women from the Aïn Biacout neighborhood. While the indirect beneficiaries are more than 160 people, including mothers and minors with health problems.

ACTIONS

• Support for the project

This is an ongoing effort to support the training and vocational and social inclusion program targeting women in AFN’s project.

• Donations

These are disbursements at a free cadence and amount to support the training and vocational and social inclusion program aimed at women in AFN’s project.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Contact the coordinators in your country for confirmation of the annual amount and payment details.

Cause “New Support to the projct 6MOAFAB ”
and in subsequent payments “renewal support to the project 6MOAFAB ”

• Donation – Cause “Donation project 6MOAFAB ”