Click Here to visit the CHF/Lebanon Website!

Strengthening Communities for Social and Economic Growth

Lebanon's 17-year civil war seriously damaged the country’s economic and social infrastructure and cut national output by half. In response, CHF’s has been implementing a range of programs since 1997. Our current programs are aimed at: 

Combating Child Labor:

Many children from low-income families in countries throughout the Middle East and Africa suffer from inadequate access to flexible, low-cost and appropriate educational opportunities, putting them at risk of entering into exploitive labor practices or illegal activities. Alternatives to Combat Child Labor through Education and Sustainable Services in the Middle East and North Africa (ACCESS-MENA) is a four-year program, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, that specifically aims to decrease the number of young children working and increase the number of them in school.

Working with parents, local organizations, municipalities, and conducting community outreach activities, ACCESS-MENA is addressing both the direct and indirect causes that are exposing children to the worst forms of child labor in Yemen and Lebanon. By August 2008, ACCESS-MENA plans to enroll or re-enroll 4,500 working and at-risk children in education programs in Lebanon.

Microlending for Small Businesses:

Access to Microfinance and Enhanced Enterprise Niches (AMEEN) is a for-profit CHF subsidiary that is working in partnership with three commercial banks to provide microfinance products and services for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The banks provide 50-75% of the loan capital— depending on the match and profit sharing arrangements. With only US$1.7 million of its own loan capital, AMEEN has disbursed over US$40 million in loans and currently has more than 7,800 active clients.

AMEEN’s key objectives are to:

> enhance access to financial services to the low income group of the population in general and micro-entrepreneurs in particular;
> enhance the institutional capacity of private commercial banks to deliver microfinance products; and
> create and support a financially sustainable local financial organization that has broad outreach among the working poor in Lebanon.

Improving Environmental Management:

The Environmentally Appropriate Rural Technologies (EARTH) Initiative was designed to manage municipal waste in order to reduce pollution and improve quality of life for 200,000 residents of Zahleh and more than 15 surrounding villages. Through our key governmental (Municipality of Zahleh), public (The American University of Beirut), and private (Globex) partners, CHF will improve and expand the existing waste management facility in Zahleh by constructing a new treatment plant and processing facilities. In addition, CHF will work with its partners to the raise awareness of local businesses and community members about environmental degradation and waste management.

The EARTH initiative's objectives are to help:

> manage solid and liquid waste via environmentally-sound approaches;
> increase the lifetime of the existing landfill;
> protect surface water (Litani River) and shallow groundwater resources in the area;
> produce green compost for use as soil conditioner in agricultural lands;
> generate additional financial returns from recycling;
> involve community members in waste management efforts;
> increase environmental awareness among community members; and
> create job opportunities for local community members.

Improving Public Education:

In addition to ACCESS-MENA, CHF is implementing the Lebanon Education Assistance for Development (LEAD) program, funded by USAID, to improve the quality of public education in Lebanon. CHF will do so by working directly with the Ministry of Education to address current gaps in primary and secondary public schools. By December 2008, the LEAD program will rehabilitate and provide supplies and equipment to 55 schools, reach over 200,000 parents, teachers and students through awareness-raising activities and engage over 2,000 students in extracurricular activities.

Stregthening Rural Agribusiness:

Two key CHF programs, Clustering for Economic Development and Revitalization of Industry Sectors (CEDARS) which ended in 2005, and its followup program, CEDARSplus, were designed to expand rural economic opportunities by increasing the competitiveness of the agribusiness sector through training, introduction of new technologies, and improved access to credit, thereby linking producers to a wider range of buyers both inside and outside of Lebanon.

By the end of 2007, the programs will have generated 5,000 new jobs and facilitated the reintegration of rural areas into the national economy, impacting more than 38,000 low-income rural Lebanese residents.

Download the Fact Sheet above for full details.