SODEV - Current & Future Projects

John Paul II Center (Current Project)
We are presently involved in a partnership with the John Paul II Center for “Social and Cultural Services”. The center was founded in 2000 with the vision of helping Lebanese families in need of assistance. Lebanon continues to be a country recovering from civil war and engulfed in debt, thus precluding social issues from adequately being dealt with at the state level. With close to half the population living below the poverty line, such community initiatives represent the only hope for many Lebanese families. John Paul II Center may base some of its programs on Catholic teachings; however, it is indiscriminate of sex, religion or political allegiances in providing its services.

The center’s activities are concentrated around three main areas:

1. Therapeutic Assistance
2. Social Assistance
3. Financial Assistance

Its role in the community is to provide the following services:

• Counselling services for couples as well as families within the principles of bio-ethics (traditional family values).
• Along with families and couples, child therapy is also a major component of the centers’ functions. Follow up visits by trained volunteers to all those under the centers’ care are an integral part of the methodology used.
• Providing families stricken with poverty monetary assistance with education fees, medical treatment and basic living expenses (groceries, rent…).
• After-school programs for underprivileged children.

It is the dedicated, compassionate, hard working staff and volunteers of the center that ensure these three areas are addressed effectively.  These individuals are firmly dedicated to the ideal and preservation of the Lebanese community. They recognize the need to promote human rights as a primary tool to the recovery of Lebanon from war and poverty. The staff is comprised of:

• Secretary
• Project Manager (Children’s Education Sponsor Program)
• Accountant
• 2 Social Workers
• 2 Psychologists
• Head of Operations

Staff Profiles:
Gladys Boustany – Project Manager for the Children’s Education Sponsorship Program. This sponsorship program deals with helping families in need with tuition fees for their children’s education. Funding for this program is secured through several partnerships with charitable organizations in Italy. Gladys is fluent in Italian and has established a network of vital contacts with organizations sympathetic to our cause. Through her hard work and dedication we have provided over 350 families with financial assistance.

Magy Moussa – Project Manager for the Family Services Program. Magy is in charge of providing assistance for families in need of financial, medical or therapeutic assistance. Her efforts have helped over four hundred families with medical expenses, counselling services as well as other every day expenses. Magy’s experience as a certified social worker has led her to create a course for families with dysfunction that she teaches at John Paul II Social and Cultural Center.

Shouf & Kesrwan Summer Camps (Current Project) SODEV has also taken up two additional projects to sponsor summer camps for all children including those with special needs. These camps target children from low income families, promising a fun cultural experience as well as an educational one. Special emphasis is placed on improving the self-concept and self-esteem of the kids. Field trips are an integral part of the program and all food expenses are paid for.

The organizers have on average assembled month long camps for approximately 50 disabled children and 150 healthy children.

These camps give all the children that attend the opportunity to work together on various projects in order to learn more about acceptance and inclusion. SODEV hopes to sponsor more of these camps all throughout Lebanon. Our sponsorship efforts have involved whole communities, businesses and humanitarian NGO’s (Non Governmental Organization).
 

Women of the 31st of May Women’s Shelter (Future Project)
Lebanese communities have seen an increase in the number of cases dealing with battered women with no effective mechanisms in place to deal with this problem. The issue of violence towards women is still taboo in most Middle Eastern societies with little to no rights recognized or granted to the victims. Women who choose to leave their abusive environments are at an immediate disadvantage when it comes to finding employment or a place to live.

Societal structures restrict women from being able to reintegrate themselves into their communities without facing discrimination and exclusion. Certain Lebanese communities are experiencing much of the same conditions when it comes to women’s rights. Our responsibility doesn’t just lie in securing and managing a women’s shelter but expanding our field of operations to include training in various issues.

Along with providing protection for women from abuse, we hope to help the victims during the transition period and eventually in their re-introduction back into society.

The shelter will offer the following:

• Educating women in health, human rights and legal rights
• Vocational/Employment training
• Providing legal-aid for victims
• Credit-system assistance (loans)
• Typing and computer training programs
• Consultancy services to families, women and youth involved in domestic violence

SODEV is working to raise public awareness of the many cases involving battered women in Lebanon and mobilizing international support for women’s rights in the tiny Middle Eastern country. We would like to empower recovering women to re-structure their roles in their communities through, training, support and education.