Thursday, February 16th, 2017, the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST) held a final ceremonial event for the “Empowering Women to Lead” (EWL) project, which was implemented with the support of the German Foundation for International Cooperation, GIZ. The event took place in Tamooz Hall in Baalbeck, in the presence of the governor of Baalbeck-Hermel, Mr. Bachir Khodr, founder of LOST, Dr. Ramy Lakkis, municipal council members, and social figures.
Anita Shreim, project coordinator, mentioned: “everything that was said about the equality of women and men treated as an actor in the community was nothing but words and ink on paper. However, the reality of the situation is that women were trained during this project, which led to the implementation of several projects in many villages.”
In addition, Mr. Bachir Khodr expressed his gratitude to the women who carried out these projects in Baalbeck-Hermel, “which contributed to the activation of sustainable human development”. Mr. Khodr added that women constitute more than half of the community, and a woman’s voice is like the voice of a man; therefore, they should have opinions and aspirations as well.
The EWL project paved the way for several actions to be implemented by women in several villages, such as equipping a basketball court in Tamnine Al Fawka, rehabilitating the Women’s Association in Deir Al Ahmar, equipping Jowar Al Hashish with an ambulance, providing a gym in Hermel, building a tent in Chaat, among others.
Dr. Ramy Lakkis concluded by stating that “the participation of women in public work and leadership were not mere slogans through this project, and it is not the logic of gender to increase the rift between women and men on the contrary, by increasing the number of citizens to participate and improve this review. We want the participation of reform to begin with the women.” Dr. Lakkis added that the women have worked through this project by identifying the village’s needs, and they worked to address the problems, which is what showed the great social impact produced by these projects.
