Heart for Lebanon Supports Students Amid Mideast Conflict
The long conflict in the Middle East has taken a toll not only in Israel but also students in nearby in war-torn Lebanon.
In the southern part of the nation, the war that Hezbollah started with Israel is wreaking havoc. Over 40 years, the area grew into a stronghold of the Iran-backed terrorist group, enabling it to exert influence on Lebanese society and political decisions. Even education. The six months of fighting that occurred last year have left villages destroyed and cities wiped out. Many schools had been used by Hezbollah as bases for operations, including their use for ballistic and rocket launches. The war left many destroyed leaving many students going without opportunities for education for the second year in a row.
Private schools now bearing the brunt of the work because government schools are not operating properly, said Camille Melki of the ministry Heart for Lebanon. However, because of the economy, private schools have been forced to raise their tuition costs by as much as 60 percent compared to last year. This economic crisis affects not only Lebanese nationals but also Syrian refugees living in the country.
“Most international donor agencies stopped providing aid in June,” she said. “They have said there will be no medical support or educational support for refugees who are living in Lebanon anymore. The little aid that the UN and large government agencies were providing to the refugees has stopped.”
Heart for Lebanon will provide educational support to 1,300 families this school year. Six hundred of these students will study in one of Heart for Lebanon’s two schools in the Bekaa Valley or in southern Lebanon, receiving free education. The other 700 students will receive scholarship support to attend other schools in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon. These are partner Christian schools for families that can afford some but not all tuition expenses.
“It’s our opportunity at Heart for Lebanon to stand in the gap and provide the proper academic education that students need, but also provide a holistic approach to a child’s spiritual, social and emotional upbringing,” Melki said.
Between the death and destruction in Syria and Lebanon, most children that Heart for Lebanon provides education for have experienced trauma.
“We’re providing a safe environment where teachers are loving, caring for, supporting and encouraging students. and providing social care and emotional care, but first and foremost, also providing spiritual care to the students and to their families,” she said.
It remains dubious to expect Lebanese citizens to disengage their support for Hezbollah and its attacks against Israel. A poll from July into August found a majority of the country’s citizens oppose the terrorist group surrendering its weapons. “US envoy Tom Barrack recently warned that Lebanon risked being invaded by Syrian forces if it did not move quickly to disarm Hezbollah,” reports Thecradle.co.
More information is available at www.heartforlebanon.org
–Alan Goforth
