Y Care International’s long-term civic empowerment work in Lebanon now at risk

24 July 2006

The Israeli attacks on Lebanon have devastated the work of Y Care International, the international relief and development agency of the YMCA in the UK and Ireland, in the country, unravelling crucial work with disadvantaged young people to rebuild civil society after the civil war.

Y Care International has been working in partnership with the YMCA of Lebanon since 1984, supporting projects that are designed and managed by the YMCA and that focus specifically on the needs of marginalised young people.

Since 2004 Y Care International’s civic empowerment project, which is funded by the UK Government’s Department for International Development’s (DFID) Civil Society Challenge Fund, has worked to empower disadvantaged and marginalised rural young people and train them to actively participate in public life.

The civil war left young people (15-24-year-olds make up one fifth of the Lebanese population) particularly marginalised, feeling they had little role or voice in policies and decision making processes. The civic empowerment project was training 300 young people in the Bekaa, North, South and High Mount regions in leadership, citizenship and advocacy skills, encouraging them to form networks and work with local community groups to develop local action projects. It gave participants an understanding of their human rights, citizenship and civic responsibilities, boosting their self-esteem and giving them the confidence to take a leadership role within local youth groups.

As a youth-focused and youth-led project, and the only work of its kind supported by DFID in Lebanon, the project played a vital role in rebuilding Lebanon after the shattering civil war.

The attacks have resulted in further community divisions, and young people being more disillusioned than ever about their future. They have also resulted in young people’s displacement – meaning YMCA project staff simply cannot contact the young people they were working with.

However, Y Care International remains committed to working with its partner YMCA to engage young people in the renewed process of rebuilding that will take place after the conflict.