- DATE: April 5, 2007
- PLACE: Aalma el Shaab, South Lebanon
- TYPE OF PROJECT: Provision of fuel oil-Provision of educational games
- QUANTITY: 660 liters of fuel oil-21 educational resources
- RECIPIENTS: Sainte Famille school
DESCRIPTION
As we met with the nun responsible for St. Famille School at Aalma el Shaab (review report 7) in the South, she shared with us stories about the July war. She recounted how the villagers who could flee their houses moved to Beirut while those who couldn’t, stayed in the village and endured the horrifying experience of the war.
All the nuns stayed at the school when the village was bombed and they took shelter in the basement with some families. The school itself was bombed on the last day. One bomb targeted the chapel and another destroyed a newly constructed classroom as well as the classrooms surrounding it.
Although the school is facing a lot of financial problems due to the fact that parents cannot pay part or all of their children’s tuition, the nuns refused to let the students go. In addition to this, the village doesn’t have electricity 24/7. Therefore, the administration had to buy a generator in order to fill the gap.
The financial situation of the school limited the amount of fuel oil needed to light the classrooms whenever needed. The classrooms are also poor in educational resources as well as games for the students, especially for the 3 to 6 year-olds (75 students).
With the different needs in mind, Heart For Lebanon went back to Aalma, this time with 21 educational games for kids to use in the classroom. We also brought a fuel truck of oil and we filled the school reservoir with 660 Liters (175 gallons) of fuel oil to meet the electricity need at the school.