WYA Lebanon has made some significant achievements this year, and Perla Tannous, the National Coordinator of the Lebanon National Committee (WYA Lebanon), shares what has been happening.
Although the 2020 Pandemic made meeting in-person difficult for the LNC, they were able to have an in-person cultural luncheon in April to discuss events and draft a strategic plan for the year.
At the in-person meeting, the members did a small activity. Perla shares, “…because in the Lebanon National Committee we have four Lebanese, we have one from Afghanistan, one from Tunisia living in Lebanon, and one girl from Belgium and one from Spain. I suggested each one of us bring a snack from their country and talk about the snack…it was like a small icebreaker game to get to know each other more”.
“After [the luncheon], we went for a hike with all the LNC members…and we had a certified training program after that too”.
Perla also shares the committee’s success with the Certified Training Program (CTP) in the region.
Last Fall, they ran the CTP with participants from the Holy Family Congregation, The Antonine Sisters, The College of the Sisters of the Holy Hearts School, and from three other universities in the region.
The LNC will give young people the opportunity to apply for the CTP this summer and plans to run the CTP with the Human Rights Club at the Sisters of the Holy Hearts School. “I believe that [the program] will grow in the schools”, Perla says.
Perla shares the many advantages of the CTP, “The good thing is to bring young people from Lebanon and from different cities, to be in solidarity, whether to help their neighbours or anyone in their community. The second one is to learn from each other. This is something that I really like…that all participants share their own experiences on each topic. It’s open-minded on topics that no one really discusses (anywhere else)”.
One of the trainees was open about his experience working with many different nonprofit organisations and how WYA differs from them.
“All of those other organisations talk about human rights, but no one made the relation between human dignity and human rights”, Perla says, “That’s something really special about the CTP and about WYA…that they combine these two topics”.
To join fun events like these, or to apply for the Certified Training Program, connect with a WYA Chapter, Club or National Committee near you!
