Service project in Lebanon
In April 2005 I visited first Lebanon with in mind the idea of starting a service project there. Surely not by chance I and some local yoga students met some Palestinian refugee and came to know more directly of their permanent condition of unwanted guests in Lebanon.
We started taking care of some children of a boyscout center in Borj Al Barajne and gradually we decided to do something long term to improve as much as possible the health condition of the camp residents.
We prepared a detailed project proposal that outlines the project in all its aspects.
Initially we wanted to limit our service to children but being new to the community we were advised by our well-wishers there to invite all residents to see for themselves what our work was about.
The refugee camps are located in economically depressed areas of Beirut which, with their low rents, attract many foreign guest workers from Syria, Sudan, Egypt etc. who somehow came to know about us and are also benefitting from our free homeopathic service.
It took till November 2005 to actually open a clinic in Shatila because of delayes in the renovation of the apartment we rented which is located within the refugee camp. Once we started though the service as been quite regular and within a few months we can count more than 500 patients and over a thousand free consultations and remedies. We also arrange to have regular clinic days in Borj Al Barajne thanks to the hospitality of another youth center.
There are two popular committes that run the administration of the camps, one selected by the political factions and th eother elected by the residents. We enjoy their support and feel very safe even if we have politely declined offers of affiliation with any of the political groups that are present in the camps.
A child gets a homeopathic dose
We were introduced to the community by an informal walk-about in the camp and mostly by getting to know the shop keepers who somehow serve the function of human media channels to the residents.
We also printed some posters and plasered them in strategic locations in the area so that everyone could come to know about our service.
To date we are taking care of more than 600 patients, most of which are children, who usually respond very quickly to our treatment. After a few successful cures, word has gone around that we are good in treating children and so we have become popular with mothers who bring their babies and toddlers at any sign of acute illnesses.
The next step of our work is to train local volunteers so to extend our service work in other economically depressed areas in Lebanon. We plan to start the courses in the coming fall 2006 and eventually replicate the project in Syria as well.
We started taking care of some children of a boyscout center in Borj Al Barajne and gradually we decided to do something long term to improve as much as possible the health condition of the camp residents.
We prepared a detailed project proposal that outlines the project in all its aspects.
Initially we wanted to limit our service to children but being new to the community we were advised by our well-wishers there to invite all residents to see for themselves what our work was about.
The refugee camps are located in economically depressed areas of Beirut which, with their low rents, attract many foreign guest workers from Syria, Sudan, Egypt etc. who somehow came to know about us and are also benefitting from our free homeopathic service.
It took till November 2005 to actually open a clinic in Shatila because of delayes in the renovation of the apartment we rented which is located within the refugee camp. Once we started though the service as been quite regular and within a few months we can count more than 500 patients and over a thousand free consultations and remedies. We also arrange to have regular clinic days in Borj Al Barajne thanks to the hospitality of another youth center.
There are two popular committes that run the administration of the camps, one selected by the political factions and th eother elected by the residents. We enjoy their support and feel very safe even if we have politely declined offers of affiliation with any of the political groups that are present in the camps.
A child gets a homeopathic dose
We were introduced to the community by an informal walk-about in the camp and mostly by getting to know the shop keepers who somehow serve the function of human media channels to the residents.
We also printed some posters and plasered them in strategic locations in the area so that everyone could come to know about our service.
To date we are taking care of more than 600 patients, most of which are children, who usually respond very quickly to our treatment. After a few successful cures, word has gone around that we are good in treating children and so we have become popular with mothers who bring their babies and toddlers at any sign of acute illnesses.
The next step of our work is to train local volunteers so to extend our service work in other economically depressed areas in Lebanon. We plan to start the courses in the coming fall 2006 and eventually replicate the project in Syria as well.
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