In light of the difficult living conditions, and with the outbreak of COVID-19 and its impact, the trainers and staff of the “She Matters 2” project, implemented by the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) in partnership with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), decided to deliver a humble gift for women of cycle 1 and 2 of the project. The initiative aimed at providing 200 women from Baalbeck, Bouday, Iaat, Chlifa, and Chaat with both an agricultural and a health kit.
The agricultural kit included 75 seedlings and seeds of tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, pepper, and eggplants for the purpose of achieving food security. The health kit on the other hand included medical masks, gloves, and soap in order to support the resilience of families during the spread of the virus. This process of distribution took place in the community farm. The tent was ready, the kits were sterilized, and the current and former “She Matters” women beneficiaries started arriving and receiving their gifts by turn under ultimate safety measures.
MCC staff members decided to also join and have a small tour around the Community Farm along with LOST’s founder, Dr. Ramy Lakkis, as well as meet the women and oversee the distribution process.
The initiative had a positive impact on the women, as Mrs. Souaad Qablan from Bouday expressed her happiness with this initiative, stating, “we thank LOST and MCC for all the material and psychological support, which enhances our ability and resilience to face all the crises we are experiencing”.
Mrs. Mutiaa El Khoury, 52 years old women from Chlifa, married with 4 children, a participant in cycle 1 of the project, said, “I have benefited a lot from the seedlings that I received and have planted them in the backyard of my house and every day I water them. Perhaps it will grow and carry some fruits which will help in reducing the burden of the high prices in the market that we cannot afford anymore”.
Hanaa Muhammad Al-Hassan, a 36-year-old Syrian married woman whose husband had left her with 5 children, the oldest of whom is 14 years old, stated, “I have planted the seeds in front of my small tent, and I will take good care of them for the sake of feeding my children, especially that none of us work and there is no one that we can rely on during these bad times”. She also expressed how thankful she is for the health kit that included gloves, masks, and soaps, adding, “these are being sold in the market for crazy prices and I have a big fear from the virus being transmitted to one of my children”.
The aim of this initiative was to support women to combat and respond to the outbreak of COVID-19 and to encourage them to cultivate and produce domestically. This is to increase household production and achieve food and health security during extreme health and economic conditions.
