Basmeh & Zeitooneh
A Lebanese NGO providing relief & development services to marginalized communities.
Upcoming project
Basmeh w Zeitooneh started as a group of volunteers dedicated to serving Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The vocational training program started by providing free English, computer and literacy classes to adults, adolescents and children, in order to encourage personal and educational development. In 2016, they expanded the program to include other types of vocational training, including photography, Photoshop, professional make-up, and accounting courses. The Women’s Workshop also provided opportunities for economic empowerment to women living in difficult financial circumstances. The members of the workshop got trained in embroidery, before starting to produce pieces such as scarves, bags and cushion covers. These items were sold through Basmeh and Zeitooneh’s selling channels (now known as shatila studio), and the women made an income from each piece they produced.
Board Members
Fadi Hallisso
CEO
Bahia Assi
Head of Finance (RFM)
Elio Gharios
Head of Programmes (COO)
Yasmin Kayali
Head of Communication CCO
George Talamas
Head of Strategy
Basmeh w Zeitooneh aims to deliver emergency packages to 5000 targeted households that include:
To respond to these basic needs of those households residing in the (aforementioned) neighborhoods, Basmeh and Zeitooneh will manage to intervene through the provision of Emergency Packages to the targeted 520 households as per the below description:
1. Food parcel: Food parcels based on UN-WFP guidelines. The composition of food packages includes essential foods with necessary nutritional values such as: Proteins, Carbohydrates, Calcium and Vitamins.
2. Hygiene kit: The kit is built according to UN-WHO guidelines. In addition to the kits, targeted households will receive an awareness brochure on hygiene measures and necessary precautions related to COVID-19, including PPE, and the recipients will be informed on how hygiene items should be used for effective results.
3. Cash assistance: The current inflation and devaluation of the purchasing power of the Lebanese currency means that even households that have cash will struggle to meet their immediate needs. In light of the UN-WFP recommendation, cash assistance will be used to help vulnerable households use local markets to meet any urgent needs that are not being met by other activities. This may include, for example, the purchase of medicines, the cost of taxis to hospitals, etc. Each of the selected beneficiary households will receive a cash amount of USD 50 (this amount should cover the food needs of the average vulnerable household in the targeted areas as recommended by WFP) which will be distributed based on standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Basmeh and Zeitooneh has been distributing emergency packages since March 2020 in response to the early wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon. Till now, more than 5,000 households have received emergency packages (that includes also food parcels, hygiene kits, and cash assistance) in Bekaa, Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, and South Lebanon.
Amount to be fundraised: $497 956