Funded by the German government, the Kingdom of Netherlands and UK Aid, the Skills 2019 is a program implemented in partnership between UNICEF and the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST). This program aims to empower youth and create an atmosphere of social cohesion between the Lebanese residents and Syrian refugees. Through its various training components, the Skills 2019 program prepares youth to become responsible, educated, skilled and accepting of others in their society.
Through the Civic Engagement and Social Cohesion (CESC) component, youth take a leap towards becoming future leaders of their communities and represent a positive role model to their peers.
Ali Mohamad Bustany, a 20-year-old Lebanese beneficiary who enrolled in the CESC program is a young promising man who helps his dad in supporting their family.
“Previously, I had no idea about the training. I would make fun of anyone who said that youth in general can make any change in their societies, and that they could play leading roles in doing so”, noted Ali.
After a month of attending the training with his coach, Ali reported that he believes that serving people and the society is one of the most humane qualities found in a true human being.
What’s interesting about Ali is that he used to have a negative view about society and had no hope in changing the bitter reality.
Ali concluded, “I speak on behalf of all my friends when I say that we want more training of this kind, we’ll all gladly attend the classes to eventually implement projects targeting our poor deprived societies”.
