World Vision’s Work in Beirut leads Global Urban Strategy

“I love Beirut and Lebanon more than anything and in spite of everything,” says Maria, a 14-year old Lebanese girl. A challenging statement for someone who lives in a country where daily life is under intensified pressure from political turmoil, instability and an unprecedented refugee influx crisis.

Maria is hopeful, as she shares what she has learned from her mother about “old Beirut” which was more developed, beautiful, and secure, as Maria’s mother recalls. But, Beirut, the urban city today, is not the same. The environment is changing.

Like many other aid and development organizations, World Vision (WV) has traditionally worked primarily in rural areas, since the organization was founded in 1950. In Lebanon, World Vision has been active since 1975, when it provided shelter, food, and medicine for people affected by the civil and regional wars. Today, World Vision Lebanon involves community members in designing, planning, implementing and evaluating programmes to meet local needs such as: education, health care, livelihood, and child protection measures.

Now, with the growth of cities and the rise of urban poverty, half of the world’s population is becoming urban; a megatrend that is changing the aid and development landscape and a fact that is considered both a challenge and an opportunity to World Vision, which is operating in nearly 100 countries around the world.  World Vision has made substantial investments in urban research and programme innovation in recent years and is now scaling-up urban programming globally, with the aim of contributing to “just cities for children”.  

World Vision Lebanon is considered among the first to respond to this challenge through its work in Beirut. “The Beirut program will inform citywide integrated approaches, scale up strategies and provide a tested example for other national offices across the partnership to apply and strengthen their city programs ,” says Joyati Das, the Senior Director of the Centre of Expertise for Urban Programming at World Vision International.

The urban programme journey in Lebanon began in 2009 with a peace building project in Ain Al Remmaneh and a youth engagement project in Burj Al Barajneh, two suburbs of Beirut. These two projects were selected as an urban pilot for Lebanon, (Lebanon was one of six pilot countries selected to participate in the urban programming initiative globally). After five years for this project, which was accompanied by a thorough research on what it means to work with youth specifically in urban contexts and on the issue of peace building, World Vision Lebanon decided to scale up the work with the youth from an Area Development Programme (ADP) approach, traditionally used in rural areas, to a citywide development programme addressing the whole of Beirut area.

This decision is manifested in the Beirut citywide programme. “Lebanon was the first country to start its urban programming with a citywide approach,” says Aline Rahbany, the Urban Learning Hub Leader for WV Middle East and Eastern Europe regional office (MEERO), based in Beirut, Lebanon.  

And, for the first time in the history of World Vision Lebanon, the programme agenda was not set by World Vision staff and decision makers, but rather by a group of 80 children and youth between the ages of 6 and 25. “The leadership in this programme is totally in the hands of the community, its children and its youth,” says Beirut Area Manager, Karim Bayoud. Experts in World Vision Lebanon met with those 80 children and youth for one year, listened to their dreams, fears, and problems, and helped them in coming up with possible solutions. The result was having children and youth designing the programme.

The launching event of Beirut City Programme was in collaboration with the UN-Habitat on the occasion of the World Cities Day. In the above picture, we can see one of the youth who was speaking about their dream vision of Beirut.

“I have many dreams for Lebanon and Beirut,” says Maria, passionately, one of the youth who helped design the programme. “But, what I really want to see is the joining of citizens, all together…  for the sake of Lebanon.”

For Maria one of the biggest things to change in her city is the absence of security. “When I was younger, all the children used to gather together in their streets and play; not anymore. Our parents tell us that it is not safe. But, it is our street, our city. Why not to play there?” she asks. In response to the voice of Maria and the other 79 children and youth, the Beirut Citywide Programme will work on contributing to the positive development of children and youth within a safe environment through working towards five sub-objectives:

1) Positive health

2)  Life skills for peace building

3)  Protection and safety mechanisms

4) Provision of child and youth friendly spaces and services

5) Career guidance

“Children and youth put these five objectives based on their proposed solutions to the problems they see in their city,” emphasizes Bayoud.

“I have many dreams for Lebanon and Beirut, but what I really want to see is the joining of citizens, all together…  for the sake of Lebanon.” 

“I used to dream to participate in such a programme; to have my voice heard,” says Maria, noting that once she knew that World Vision is working on such a programme, she immediately joined. “Over the last year, it was all about dreaming. But today, the implementation [has] started,” says Maria, hopeful.  

Bayoud explains that the security and safety which children asked for will be provided through many actions within a 3-year plan. “We are aware that none of these objectives can be achieved without the peer partnership of other local and international NGOs, the Ministry of Social Affairs (through its social development centers), the Ministry of Education, schools, municipalities, parents, and even the private sector,” emphasizes Bayoud. For example, the provision of the child friendly spaces will not only be in partnership with the municipalities, but also with the private sector.

“The proximity in distances between the different areas of Beirut made it easy for us to gather these children and youth and to unify their voices,” says Rabbani.  On the other hand, Beirut as an urban city is prone to continuous changes and the programme should come up with tools that can adapt the programme to any changing context, as Rahbany explains.  “In the city, changes come at a fast pace; faster than in rural areas. We should be attentive to that challenge and make sure that any designed program is flexible enough to adapt to the changing context,” she adds.

“I believe that change will come, not now, as it needs time. But it is coming, because youth are having more power now,” says Sandy Daoud, a 22-year old youth participant in the Beirut City Programme.