Volume 4 / April 2001

• Letter from the Vice Chairman
• EDF News
• Beirut Training Session
• Beirut Graduates
• The Third South Training Session
• New Recipient's Projects in the South
• The On-Going Projects of Akkar
• Article by Dr. Toufic Gaspard

Letter from the Vice Chairman

With the end of the war in Lebanon, and with the changes the world had witnessed during recent years, several clear and basic facts have become obvious to all those involved in the public sector, especially in the social sector.
First: the crucial role of non-governmental organizations in developing our local communities and improving the lives of individuals. This of course, can be realized by supporting government institutions, not by replacing them.
Second: the concept of development has evolved, with more emphasis on the development of human resources and their preparation to a post-war stage, through training people on production and fruitful work, hence allowing them to depend on themselves.
Third: the necessity of enhancing economic growth by encouraging the creation of small businesses through personal initiative, particularly in rural areas and away from large cities.
From the outset, the Entrepreneurial Training Foundation developed a solid belief in these facts, and we focused our work on the basis upon which they obligate. Our training workshops held in the various Lebanese regions and the soft loans we offer are only a testimony to these convictions.
The most important thing about these loans and training sessions is that they come at the right time to help solve one of the biggest challenges that Lebanon faces today, the challenge of enhancing economic growth through helping create job opportunities and help reduce the accute unemployment situation in Lebanon, especially in rural areas.
Certainly, we at EDF, don’t profess a capacity to single-handedly fight the economic crisis or the unemployment problem. But we believe in the Chinese proverb that says: "It’s better to light a candle than to curse darkness." To keep this flame alive, we need the support of all those kind and generous donors who share our convictions and aspirations.

With my best regards,
Yassin Jaber
Vice-Chairman

EDF News

In an effort to participate and become active in regional and international organizations, the EDF has lately joined the Arab Network for Civil Organizations, where forty-two Lebanese NGO’s have joined so far. It has also joined the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) that consists of five hundred NGO’s from one hundred countries around the world. Including EDF in these two organizations will facilitate our interaction with both regional and international NGO’s. Hence, helping the foundation in promoting it’s social priorities’ agenda both regionally and internationally.

The Third South Training Session

If presented with the opportunity to better their lives, former Khiam detainees are sure to grab it, as attested by their high level of participation in the 3rdtraining session for southern areas.

Twenty-four trainees completed the course, which was characterized by lots of professionalism. Despite the hardships they have suffered in their lives, the trainees showed an enthusiasm and a thirst for learning, demonstrated by their participation in workshop discussions, class conduct and punctuality.

Few weeks after the session ended, trainees started presenting a number of worthy project proposals---a further testimony to their desire to reintegrate into their communities and become active and productive members of society.

New Recipient's Projects in the South

Samer Maddah

Life and activity is quickly seeping back into the former occupied zones because of the entrepreneurial spirit of residents like Samer Maddah, who hopes to open up his own business. His shop will provide all types of services related to computers and cellular phones. The enterprise will be located in the town of Hasbaya that serves a large segment of the southern population. Samer has a solid and practical experience in this field. We hope that his shop will be a success.

Antoine Semaan

Keeping a souvenir of a country is one of the tourists’ lasting memories. And Antoine Semaan wants to make sure that memorabilia collected in Lebanon is of the best quality. That’s why he chose to use the skills he gained in the EDF training to update and expand his factory in Jezzine for local crafts and artisanal items. Antoine has a long experience in this field and hopes to improve the quality and quantity of his production by the addition of much-needed equipment to his factory.

Suzanne Mahfouz

Suzanne Mahfouz has been as busy as a bee ever since she decided to open her own honey produce shop, in Rahbeh, Akkar. With her packed schedule, Suzanne is certainly very glad that her father could help her out with her venture. "My father first started to work with bees about six years ago," she said. "It’s his hobby and he really loves it." Suzanne says that her father’s knowledge of keeping bees comes in handy every day. "He knows how to breed them to get the purest honey," she said.
The young woman used the EDF loan to buy 10 boxes, specially-designed for bees to build their beehives. These were added to the 20 boxes that Suzanne’s father owned. Moreover, Suzanne used the loan to rent a shop and equip it with products used by bee-keepers, like special bee-keeper outfits, bee medicine and beeswax.
The nearest honey store, according to Suzanne, is in Tripoli, which is 25 kilometers away. Suzanne, who is studying computer at a technical school, confides that originally she had in mind a project for a computer shop. "But then I noticed that so many people had the same idea, so I decided to do something different."
But Suzanne’s computer skills did not go to waste she used them to design and print out flyers, advertising her new shop.

Khalid Shami

The mad cow scare may have transformed the most carnivorous eaters into vegetarians, but the disease has no place on Khaled Shami’s calf-breeding farm.
“I will breed them according to the organic methods of farming, only feeding them natural feed," he said. Khaled received a loan from EDF after completing a training session last summer. His project proposal outlined the plan for establishing a breeding farm in Tikrit, Akkar, in which he will fatten up calves for sale on the market.
Khaled will also chip in some money of his own for his capital investment (excluding the cost of constructing a building for the farm). Already the 22-year-old law student has acquired 12 male calves and three milk cows. But he will not stop there. "My aim is to get 30 calves," he said.
While Khaled admits that he was hesitant at first about going into the venture, he said that EDF trainers’ motivational spirit spurred him on to launch his project. With no such farms in the region, Khaled was quick to take advantage of the market need for his project. "My farm will serve about 30 Akkar villages," he said.
About his impressions of the EDF training, Khaled only had two words: "Great... Great," he said.

Fayez Ahmad

A school teacher-com entrepreneur, Fayez Ahmed was not content with only giving computer lessons to his students. He wanted to open up his own shop to link the small town of Al-Abdeh to the information superhighway and the world.
Having rented a shop with the loan he received from EDF, Fayez is already paving the way to bring people together. Already, local residents can use the two computers Fayez acquired to email or chat with friends and loved ones, whether they live in Lebanon or abroad. His shop is open from 8am until 7pm. But Fayez will not stop here."My aim is to have six computers," he said. He also offers photocopying and printing services and sells computers and their accessories. Moreover, he conducts computer training courses.
With no such services offered within 15-kilometer radius, Fayez’s computer shop is bound to monopolize the local market. "I’d been hearing of people’s need for a computer and internet shop for a while," he said. "That’s why I felt I had to launch this project."