LOST’s Sectors

Food Security and Livelihood:

Resulting from LOST’s belief and commitment to the human’s most basic right to live in dignity, LOST implements multiple projects and initiatives that works on multiple levels, designed to enhance livelihoods and cultivate income-generating capacities for all.

The socio-economic intervention strategies at LOST aim to capacitate beneficiaries and build their abilities. These efforts involve a training program covering a range of essential skills. attend a series of training sessions including Life Skills, which encompasses positive leadership, mental health, and civic engagement. Additionally, the receive sessions in Financial Literacy, Gender Equality, and Inclusion. Finally, these beneficiaries will be involved in vocational training that aims at increasing their livelihood and generating income with dignity.

The selection of the vocational training courses is determined through a detailed market analysis. It is a process of evaluating and interpreting information about a market, its potential, and the factors that influence its dynamics. It involves a systematic examination of various aspects of a market to understand its current state, predicting future trends and linking demand to supply. Here are some key components typically included in the analysis:

Market overview
Competitive analysis
Industry trends
Customer analysis
Market segmentation
SWOT analysis
Pricing strategy
Distribution channels
Market entry strategies

Delving deeper and in dependance on the market analysis, LOST provides business capital items, introduces new techniques and expertise into the marketplace, encourages investments, and supports start-up businesses.

Additionally, on the community level as well, LOST supports many initiatives that serve this sector. It includes:

Creating drainage and irrigation canals to collect water and reduce waste
Designing pipe networks
Adopting and implementing modern and effective irrigation mechanisms
Provide in kind support for farmers including solar and irrigation systems

Throughout the years, LOST worked on establishing its greatest achievements in this sector; the Community Farm. The Community Farm in Baalbek is at the service of the farmers, citizens, and the environment. It aims to:

Support local agricultural production with the most modern and technical means to preserve both health and the environment.
Help in improving the livelihood and food security sector through agricultural by capacitating hundreds of farmers,
Distribute thousands of natural seedlings seasonally to the farmers
Provide a permanent market for vegetables, healthy and natural crops, and manufactured food products for wholesale and retail markets.

Education

At LOST, it is firmly believed that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world and the most effective way to break out of the cycle of poverty. LOST, through its projects in the education sector, plays a significant role in ensuring that every child receives the opportunity to build a better future through education. LOST works at the grass-root level to strengthen the education system, spread awareness about the importance of education, and enroll as many children as possible so they can thrive in life.

The Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training has been focused on activities that promote educational interventions that have a direct and immediate effect on people’s education and skills. LOST takes high interest in such programs because they are designed to help improve the quality of life for marginalized people by providing them with access to educational services; thereby giving them hope to constructively contribute to their communities. This kind of work falls under LOST’s vision, since LOST aims to empower and engage people in Lebanon to live in dignity and peace based on the respect, protection, and fulfilment of Human Rights.

Furthermore, the education sector at LOST has been running programs for 20 consecutive years, through which children, adolescents, youth, and women were provided with learning, knowledge, and skills.

LOST is a founding and current member of the MEHE sub-committee for education. LOST’s education sector provides various programs and services: Community Based ECE, Basic Numeracy & Literacy, Retention support, Recreation and Homework Support programs, Teaching and learning material design, Awareness Raising & Outreach initiatives, School Rehabilitation, and School Transportation, in addition to vocational training. It is worth mentioning that LOST is the main IELTS testing venue, CISCO-Authorized training provider, and TOEFL and SAT trainings destination.

Women Empowerment:

In a context where Lebanese Law theoretically upholds women’s rights, the stark reality remains that many women still struggle to fully exercise these rights due to the prevailing unjust and biased conditions in their surrounding areas. Recognizing the imperative to rectify this discrepancy and ardently championing the idea that women should not merely possess rights on paper but actively enjoy and exercise them, LOST operates on four pivotal levels to drive women’s empowerment. These four pillars are supported across LOST’s programs and act as a focus of LOST’s values and include:

Food Security and Basic Livelihood: Fostering women’s access to food and livelihood opportunities to ensure they can attain self-sufficiency, thereby addressing the foundational aspect of their empowerment.
Psychological Support and Trauma Remedy: Acknowledging that women often bear the emotional scars of discrimination, violence, or traumatic experiences, LOST provides essential psychological support and trauma remedies to help them heal, rebuild their self-esteem, and regain their strength.
Life Skills and Social Activism: By imparting life skills and nurturing social activism, LOST equips women with the tools they need to actively engage in their communities and empowers them to be confident, self-reliant, and effective advocates for their rights.
Political Empowerment and Leadership: LOST recognizes that women’s participation in political processes is indispensable for gender equality. Therefore, the organization promotes political empowerment and leadership training to enable women to assert their rights, influence policy decisions, and occupy leadership roles within their communities.

Youth Empowerment:

Believing in the idea that youth today hold the key to shaping a brighter tomorrow, LOST places a high value on the positive, energetic, and transformative potential of young people in the field of development. This perspective is at the heart of LOST’s mission, which primarily centers its interventions on the youth demographic.

LOST has taken inspiration from and aligned itself with UNICEF’s youth policy, underlining its commitment to this cause. Moreover, LOST plays a direct role in supporting the youth forum, which serves as a dynamic platform for communication and empowerment of the youth. The forum is designed with a multi-faceted agenda, including:

Preventing Extremism: By engaging with and empowering young people as well as offering alternative pathways through constructive activities.
Supporting Employability: The forum recognizes the importance of youth employability and endeavors to equip young individuals with the skills and opportunities necessary for sustainable employment.
Promoting the 12 core Human skills: Education and personal development are vital components of youth empowerment
Catalyzing Citizenship: The forum encourages active citizenship among young participants, motivating them to be responsible and engaged members of their communities.
Mobilizing Youth-Led initiatives: LOST empowers youth to take the lead in driving community initiatives, fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.
Linking youth to developmental roles within local government forms: the forum facilitates connections between youth and local government bodies, allowing young people to have a voice in shaping their communities.

Social Stability and Good Governance

LOST’s approach to building social cohesion centers around responding to the specific needs of the community. LOST embraces a theory of change that recognizes the importance of addressing these needs to promote social stability. To achieve this, LOST employs a variety of strategies and approaches.

One key aspect of LOST’s work is identifying and addressing conflicts at both grassroots and surface levels. The interventions used to resolve these conflicts includes:

Raising awareness about the issues at hand
Mobilizing stakeholders
Facilitate cross-sectarian meetings to encourage dialogue and collaboration
Conduct advocacy campaigns
Promote other forms of dialogues and interactions within the community

Finally, LOST is actively engaged in providing several training courses for all arrays of the community. These courses cover topics such as civic training, conflict resolution, municipal law, and team building. In addition to the mentioned above, LOST conducts need assessments to identify and implement its community projects that further contribute to social cohesion and stability in the area.

In line of supporting the government, LOST is promoting good governance through raising awareness of the best government practices. Some key elements of LOST’s efforts in this regard:

Rehabilitate and improve service delivery spots within the government. It includes enhancing infrastructure and systems to ensure efficient, effective and easy access to the service leading to an improved sense of citizenship.
Provide capacity building training to government employees. This training course equips the employees with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their duties effectively and efficiently to overall improve the service provided.
Highlight principles of democracy ensuring that government processes are transparent, accountable, and align with the democratic norms.
Introduce principles of participatory budgeting and decision making. This empowers citizens to have a say in how public resources are distributed and utilized.

WASH

Committed to its mission to support Lebanon’s most vulnerable communities, LOST and through complex efforts, remains firm in its obligation to preserving the dignity and welfare of its people, collaborating closely with various stakeholders.

The WASH sector at LOST has been a lifeline supplying critical water, sanitation, and hygiene services to Syrian refugees residing in informal settlements since 2016. It is a testament to our dedication to addressing the fundamental needs of those who have sought refuge in the face of adversity.

Through the WASH programs, LOST has become a custodian of critical services, ensuring not just the provision of water, but the preservation of health and dignity. The impact resonates in the very essence of our collaboration with the Syrian refugees, reflecting a shared commitment forging pathways to a more secure and empowered future.

Protection

Being a firm believer of everyone’s right to safety, the protection sector is considered very critical in LOST’s context especially in the time of crises.

Targeting both Lebanese and Syrian women navigating the shadows of trauma, LOST is dedicated to enhancing their safety without discrimination by providing a space for healing through engagement in activities. We acknowledge the profound impact of past experiences on individual well-being and strive to be a beacon of support.

LOST has been a huge advocate for the vulnerable factions of society, and this advocacy reverberates in our robust protection and anti-exploitation policies. These policies serve as a shield against the vulnerabilities that often afflict marginalized communities, embodying our commitment to creating a protective fortress for those who need it the most.

The synergy of social networks and frontline efforts becomes a powerful tool in the detection and referral of protection cases, ranging from low to high risk. Through these channels, LOST’s case management team steps in with unwavering dedication, providing not just legal guidance but holistic assistance or referral, ensuring that no one is left without the support they deserve.

Health

In the health sector, LOST operates as a beacon of awareness, orbiting the government services to illuminate pathways to well-being. Our initiatives take shape as active participants in awareness campaigns orchestrated by both the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the United Nations (UN). Through strategic engagement in media campaigns, we amplify our voice, advocating not only for the provision of healthcare services but also for their continuous improvement.

Our role extends beyond rhetoric; it manifests itself in tangible actions through the health sector at LOST. Here, our commitment materializes in the rehabilitation of Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and dispensaries, breathing new life into the foundations of community health. By actively participating in mapping and referring health cases, we become navigators, guiding individuals to the care they need.

Humanitarian aid

In this vital sector, the overall goal is to alleviate human suffering and uphold human dignity through a comprehensive range of humanitarian initiatives. These initiatives encompass the provision of essential materials, efficient logistics, and targeted interventions.

Addressing the harsh challenging winter, the initiative extends support through the distribution of shelter materials and heating fuel, accompanied by essential non-food items like blankets and heating stoves.

Recognizing the multifaceted nature of human needs, the organization extends its reach to clothing donations, ensuring families in need receive not only the basics but also a sense of warmth and comfort. Beyond immediate material assistance, the initiative goes a step further by providing legal aid and educational services to refugees, reinforcing the commitment to comprehensive and sustained support across various sectors.

Environment

Inspired by LOST’s sense of responsibility and awareness that human activities are having a dire impact on the environment, this sector works on environmental preservation that is central to increasing quality of human life and falls seamlessly into social development.

Environment-based interventions include:

Sorting from the source projects
Conducting public awareness campaigns
Disseminating waste management modalities
Providing environmental utilities to municipalities and CSOs
Performing large-scale forestation campaigns in rural areas