News

The Daily Star newspaper published the day before yesterday an article highlighting the work of the recently founded “Women to Women Success” association, which seeks to create income generating opportunities for housewives based on their cooking skills and tailored to their lifestyles. The NGO kicked off after 2 women, Maud Jabbur and Lama Diab, came up with the idea during their participation in a social entrepreneurship workshop, which they subsequently were able to implement with the assistance of a USD 11,000 grant from USAID.
Jabbur told the newspaper that the NGO was registered just a few months ago and works now, with 13 housewives providing them with training and support in various areas such as: culinary techniques, food safety, communication skills, and marketing. In addition WWS is building up a client’s base that ranges from companies, to banks and individuals. Diab added that research indicates that housewives and mothers work at least 90 hours per week, all for free. Hence, she concluded, fitting in a job, if the woman can even find one, is very difficult. However, the increasingly deteriorating economic conditions and fallouts on poor families have pushed women into becoming more economically active. Diab noted that her association is striving to create new income generating opportunities to women within their household context.

For more information, please visit their website: Women to Women Success; and facebook page.

Source: The Daily Star 25 August 2014

The Minister of Tourism, Michel Pharaon, inaugurated last Saturday the Ehmej Tourism festival organized by the Municipality in collaboration with the local association for village development.  The event was attended by former Minister Leila al Solh Hamadeh and a number of MPs.  The head of the local municipality, Nazih Abi Semaan, noted on his speech that such festivals are taking place when the country is suffering from many disturbances but they serve to reiterate that the Lebanese people will not succumb to pressures. Minister Pharaon praised the efforts exerted by responsible in Ehmej and indicated also that Lebanon will not succumb to violence or to dictatorship especially that his Ministry has adopted this summer’s slogan as “Lebanon land of life and freedom”.
Another summer festival also kicked off in Habbaryeh (Hasbaya) as a result of collaboration between the festival organizing committee and the Municipality and under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism.  The 2014 festival started last Friday and included a traditional village wedding, theatre representation, as well as various spectacles, and an exhibition of Lebanese food, of old photographs, as well as traditional arts and sports event.  The festival also honored  the village’s elderly.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Mustaqbal, 25 August 2014

The Arab Banks Forum which is focusing on small and medium enterprises kicked off yesterday.  The Forum which will take place over three days included a speech by the Minister of Economy and Trade, Alain Hakim, who stressed the importance of SME in raising growth rates.  Hakim also spoke about the role of his Ministry on supporting SMEs especially in terms of drawing their practical institutional frameworks for improving the situation of the SMEs in Lebanon which total some 67000 enterprises.  The President of the International Arab Banks Federation, Joseph Torbey, spoke about the resilience of SMEs especially in withstanding challenges and economic crisis.  He shared with the participants the learning form the Lebanese experience noting that SMEs represent 90% of the private sector enterprises and employ 80% of the total labor of that sector.
For his part, the first Vice President of Lebanon’s Central Bank, Raed Charafeddine, noted that most enterprises in the Arab work are small and medium enterprises.  He underlined the need to reconsider lending policies so as to take into consideration the needs of SMEs.  The honorary president of the general federation of chambers of commerce, industry and agriculture in the Arab World, Adnan Kassar, noted that SMEs are key vehicles to address the problem of growing unemployment in the Arab region which is estimated at 16% on average and at 25% amongst the youth.  

Source: Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Al-Diyar, 22 August 2014

Massachusetts for Technology honored Aya Bdeir and Fadel Adib amongst 35 promising pioneers who are less than 35 years of age.  Bdeir studied Computer Engineering and Sociology at the American University of Beirut and set up a few years ago in New York the “Little Bits” Company, which produces educational electronic games for children which are inspired by Lego and are also magnetic and easy to use as it allows kids to build electronic robots.  Bdeir is a strong supporter of the use of technology to facilitate education and creation, and her toys are sold in 70 countries. Bdeir is also a media graduate from MIT and has been recently chosen amongst 100 people who are the most creative in the business sector.  Popular Mechanics magazine also selected her as one of 25 people who are recreating the American dream and CNN designated her company amongst the 10 most important emerging businesses.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 22 August 2014

The Women Cultural Committee in Zghorta organized its annual fundraising lunch the benefits of which are used to support the rehabilitation and refurbishment of the Saint John the Baptist Cathedral.  The event was attended by representatives of local, charitable, social and women organizations.  The president of the committee, Dimia Fenianos, noted in her speech the importance of solidarity in order to address the growing needs of the community especially in terms of educational, health, economic and social needs.  The fundraiser also included an exhibition of various products made by women notably sweets, paintings and handicrafts.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 22 August 2014

The Minister of Finance, Ali Hassan Khalil, met yesterday in his office with a delegation of tobacco growers and heads of municipalities in order to announce a new initiative which consists in distributing community development aid to municipalities of tobacco growing villages through the Lebanese Regie des Tabacs et Tombacs.  The general director of the “Regie”, engineer Nassif Saklaowi, noted after the meeting that the project presented by the Board of the Regie seeks to involve municipalities in providing assistance to the local community of farmers in their villages and so as to enable them to implement urgent development projects which may include irrigation ponds, water systems, agricultural roads, agricultural extension, etc… These projects are expected to be implemented within an agreed timetable.  To be noted that heads of municipalities present in the meeting had already submitted their projects timetable to the Minister.  Saklaowi noted that the Regie is aiming to include a new budget item to cover similar initiatives in its annual budget which would eventually include all villages involved in tobacco growing.

Source: Al-Diyar 21 August 2014

The Internal Security Forces declares that on the morning of 20/8/2014, they found the corpse of N.K. killed inside her relatives’ home in Barja.  ISF’s security branch was able to apprehend the perpetrators following intensive investigations.  It was discovered that the alleged murderer is the victim’s uncle who confessed to the crime which he indicated was for “family reasons”.  The crime weapon, a knife, was also apprehended.

Source: Al-Akhbar 21 August 2014

Wheat farmers in the Beqaa suffer from several problems namely rising cost of production as well as the exploitation of traders, but mainly the neglect by the Ministry of Economy who has yet to issue any information regarding the mechanisms for receiving and pricing their new harvest, a matter of great concern to the farmers.  As a result, wheat farmers in Mid, West and North Beqaa as well as Rashayya have threatened with escalation of their protests against public neglect.  The farmers noted that the mechanism for receiving and pricing the new harvest is still in pipeline since more than one month and has not been placed on the agenda of the cabinet meetings.  Farmers, who had met at the headquarters of their syndicate in Riyyaq, threatened to close the main and international roads to pressure the Ministry and force it to quickly collect the new harvest.  The head of the syndicate of wheat farmers, Ibrahim Tarshishi, said that the farmers were witnessing an unprecedented neglect in processing of their harvest whilst the Ministry is not bothered by their plea as if it is seeking to destroy them instead of doing them justice especially that food is an essential staple product of key importance for food security.

To be noted that the WEEPortal had already addressed this issue.  Please refer to previous postings:  “Wheat production in Beqaa drops by 25% and the Ministry of the Economy is absent”, on 11/7/2014 and "Akkar farmers demand a raise of wheat prices to guarantee sustainability", on 27/6/2014.

Source: Al-Safir, Al-Akhbar 20 August 2014

As Safir newspaper published a report about household Mooneh which women exclusively make.  The report focused on the situation of Mooneh in the Beqaa based on the accounts of two women, namely Lorette Gerges from Ferzol and Um Kassem from Ali Nahri who described her products as “healthy bites”.  Um Kassem produces Mooneh free from chemicals and additives and distributes it amongst her family.  Gerges for her part considers Mooneh to be an economic need for rural women as it has gone beyond household pantries to reach shelves in supermarkets with possibilities for external marketing especially with the existence of rural women cooperatives, women group, and factories for packaging as well as new marketing channels.  Gerges said that she started her experience as a solidarity group of around 20 women who set up a food-processing cooperative to produce Mooneh and selling it locally and internationally.  Gerges added that Mooneh making is a hereditary skill but they have added to it new practices such as safe packaging according to international standards.  She also noted that women cooperatives have become a major outlet for farmers’ products.

Source: Al-Safir 20 August 2014

A number of Lebanese women organizations held yesterday a sit-in at the offices of the general Union of Palestinian Women in Shatila in solidarity with Palestinian people and against the Israeli assault on Gaza.  The head of the General Union of Palestinian Women, Amneh Gebril, expressed her appreciation of this gesture and that the Israeli assault not only targeted Gaza but also the larger Palestinian dream to have their own state and return to their homeland.  For her part, Linda Matar, the responsible of international affairs at the Lebanese League for Women’s Rights and the general coordinator of the Arab Regional Centre of the International Union of Democratic Women noted that the Palestinian cause is central to the Arab world and added that Arab leaders disappointed their people by failing to sever their relations with Israel. The sit-in also included speeches by members of the visiting delegation who condemned the Israeli attacks and asked the international community to refer Israel to the International Criminal Court given that it has committed war crimes.

Source: Al-Mustaqbal 20 August 2014