Habitat for Humanity LebanonLebanon -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
Why Habitat is needed in Lebanon
From 1975 until the early nineties, civil war in Lebanon destroyed not only lives, homes and infrastructure, but also its fragile society. During this period, an estimated one million people were displaced by fighting, and hundreds of thousands were injured, killed or disappeared. The damage to property alone cost US$25 billion. The scars of society ran much deeper. Post-war government reconstruction grants were insufficient and seen to be distributed unfairly, only deepening sectarian divisions.
Many more homes and lives were destroyed in the July–August 2006 war between the Israeli Defense Force and the militant wing of Hezbollah, which also displaced one million people and damaged more than 100,000 houses.
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Civil war shattered homes and lives in Lebanon and left millions of people displaced.
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Habitat for Humanity Lebanon’s reconstruction project has served thousands of people.
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Reconstruction from these wars left Lebanon heavily in debt, and continued political unrest has prevented its economy from recovering fully. Unemployment is still high—twenty percent in 2006—and the jobs that exist pay very low wages, despite the high cost of living.
Rapid urbanization due to displacement and economic deprivation has resulted in ghettos of poverty in Beirut and other large cities. Thousands of those displaced live illegally in old industrial centers, condemned buildings about to collapse, ruins or inadequate houses. Living conditions are often deplorable, with no access to proper sanitation, clean water or electricity. Without jobs, families remain trapped in a cycle of poverty.
The situation is not much better for those who remain in rural villages. Low-quality construction is ubiquitous, and water leakage, lack of heating, inadequate sanitation and overcrowding are common among Lebanon’s rural dwellers. The cost of construction has skyrocketed in recent years along with the cost of living, leaving low-income families with no option to improve their homes.
How Habitat helps
Since its inception in late 2001, Habitat for Humanity Lebanon has sheltered thousands of displaced Lebanese in 65 mixed communities in south Lebanon by providing families the necessary financial and technical assistance to reconstruct, repair, renovate or complete their homes to make them decent, healthy and safe.
Working in partnership with volunteers and homeowner families, HFHL builds more than houses—it builds lives, homes and unified communities. Using a participatory approach rooted in firm beliefs of empowerment and transformation, HFHL has played an important role in renewing the concept of development in a country that has focused primarily on economic growth since the civil war.
Bishop Salim Ghazal, regional statesman and Chairman of HFHL, has stated, "With Habitat's arrival, many communities are overjoyed with the opportunity to rebuild their simple village homes.”
Highlights
- HFHL has proven effective in rebuilding both houses and communities across dividing lines. Priority is given to those families in greatest need, without discrimination. Homeowners, neighbors and corporate volunteers join in the construction, reviving the Lebanese village tradition of “aouni,” or helping one another. Local volunteers serve as program leaders and are living examples of the attitude needed to rebuild their villages.
- In East Sidon, HFHL works in partnership with the Center for Dialogue and Development and local committees made up of a representative mix of religious groups and denominations. Other partnerships are currently being pursued.
Facts about Lebanon
Location: Middle East, on the Mediterranean between Israel and Syria
Population: 4.1 million
Language: Arabic
Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, with wet winters and hot, dry summers
Religions: Islam and Christianity
Government: Republic
Economy: Main industries include banking, tourism, food processing, jewelry and cement
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