Diana Solah, a young 19-year-old from Baalbeck is among the several participants that are enrolled in the CBT make-up training. This course is among the various trainings being offered as part of the “Skills for Active Youth” project, in partnership with UNICEF, which is directed towards Lebanese and Syrian youth aged between 14 and 24. It is composed of six training programs: YBLN (Youth Basic Literacy and Numeracy), LS (Life Skills), CBT (Competency Based Skills Training and Vocational Orientation), Innovation Lab (GIL), Message Through Arts (MAT), and Mentorship Training. These training programs extend all over Northern Beqaa, from Ersal to Bedneyel.
When Diana started the course, she did not know how to apply make-up, but she had a strong passion for it, and dreamt of becoming a make-up artist. Little by little, Diana began to acquire the necessary skills required to become skilled. During mid cycle, she began receiving her own customers at her home, and she also interned at a local salon.
Diana dropped out of school in ninth grade, because her parents did not have the financial means for her to finish her education. She began generating little income from applying make-up to customers, and began to help her parents with expenses. Diana stated, “thanks to Miss Farah, our make-up instructor, we not only learned how to apply make-up, but to also assist one another and to build up our personalities”. Furthermore, Diana added, “the class was very organized and beneficial, and little by little, one is able to learn the required skills necessary to become a successful makeup artist”. Diana, among many others are gaining opportunities at growth and success through the “Skills for Active Youth” project.
