The Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) held a ceremony honoring the Governor of Baalbeck-Hermel, Mr. Bachir Khodr and UNICEF Representative Tanya Chapuisat in the Tammouz Hall in Baalbeck, in the presence of Prime Minister Saad Hariri represented by MP Bakr Al-Hujairi, Minister of the Displaced Ghassan Attallah, represented by Dr. Antoine Ammar, Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, represented by Colonel Osama Al-Lakkis, Director General of the General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, represented by Lieutenant General Ghayath Zaiter, Director General of the State Security Major General Tony Saliba represented by Colonel Hussein Al-Salman, Regional Director for the Middle East Gert Kabalari, representatives of political parties, and international and local organizations, clerics, mayors, and mukhtars.
The founder of LOST, Dr. Ramy Lakkis welcomed the audience and said in his congratulatory speech to Governor Bachir Khodr, “despite your young age, we learned a great deal from you. We learned the perfection of work away from personal influences, and your dedication in serving the Baalbeck-Hermel area, not because you are a local but because you are Lebanese in the first place, you were cooperating with us, but most importantly, you were a partner in many humanitarian projects, and you were the initiator in many of them”.
Dr. Lakkis listed a number of the projects implemented by the organization in cooperation with the governor, and added, “the governor has contributed to changing the stereotype of Baalbeck and opening an office to receive international organizations to organize the work”. Dr. Lakkis then presented the governor with an honorary shield token of appreciation.
In his speech, Governor Khodr expressed his happiness at his presence in Baalbeck and desribed his five years as Governor as the most prominent stages that he surpassed, despite the challenges. He mentioned a number of projects implemented by the governorate in the region, and added, “In the security issue, I assure you that the security situation has improved greatly in the Baalbeck-Hermel area and has become better than many areas in Lebanon. We have also succeeded in returning Baalbeck-Hermel to the Green Zone in world tourism and removing it from the restricted areas at a number of embassies”. Mr. Khodr concluded, “I have always asked where is the citizen? Through these kinds of initiatives, I have seen the cooperative and contributing citizens, young men and women full of enthusiasm who desire to serve their community. They are truly an added value to the country and idols to follow”.
Dr. Lakkis then met the UNICEF representative in Lebanon, Tania Chapuisat with a speech in which he referred to the contribution of UNICEF to Baalbeck-Hermel on the level of job creation and awareness raising on civil peace issues, social integration, life skills, and capacity development among young people and women.
The role of youth in development was emphasized, which stems from LOST’s theory of change which links social cohesion to local development. Additionally, LOST is empowering and engaging youth, and making their achievements visible.
Dr. Lakkis then presented Chapuisat with a token of appreciation for her work and humanitarian contributions in Baalbeck, as well as gifts for Khodr, Chapuisat and Kablari, which were traditional home-made Baalbaki robes.
