Agriculture & Environment

Housing

Thousands of Mount Lebanon families were displaced from their hometowns as a result of the Lebanese civil war-Many of them moved to the suburbs of the capital city, Beirut. As Beirut continues to be congested and rents continue to increase, most families live in substandard apartments and find it hard to sustain rents with no hope for ever owning their own homes. In addition, the recent explosion in Beirut in 2020 has added a further strain on housing for the low to middle income families.

Darouna is raising funds to build green sustainable affordable housing to families in southern Mount Lebanon. Our goal is to impact 500 families.

Infrastructure

In addition to many roads needing resurfacing, storm drainage channels and retaining walls are a big requirement in south Mount Lebanon. This area is known for massive rock and mud slides in winter jeopardizing the safety and well-being of its citizens on the roads. Some work has already been achieved by Darouna in collaboration with the government however, others remain to be undertaken by Darouna’s own funding. Due to the deteriorating economic and political situation in Lebanon beginning in 2019, infrastructure projects have been put on hold.

Humanitarian

We, at Darouna, believe in paying it forward. From distributing food staples, to flour bags, Darouna does its share in helping needy families in Mount Lebanon.

Health and Education

Health: Hospitals in Southern Mount Lebanon lag behind those in the larger cities such as Beirut, Tripoli and Sidon in terms of expertise, equipment, facilities and care. No teaching hospital currently exists in southern Mount Lebanon. A feasibility study is currently underway to build a tertiary teaching hospital that would cater to the southern Mount Lebanon region.

Education: Education has always been a pillar in Lebanon with a 95% literary rate as reported in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Mount Lebanon and specifically, the souther area has a shortage of schools and children have to travel long distances to receive their education. As a result, Darouna is currently studying ways to establish schools for all ages in Mount Lebanon.

Women’s Empowerment

Lebanon has made limited progress in promoting gender equality, empowering women, and opening the space for women to play their part in achieving sustainable development. It is broadly accepted that despite many advantages and acquired rights, Lebanese women continue to face discrimination at numerous levels, keeping gender equality in Lebanon an elusive objective.

Gender Inequality in Lebanon is considered to be particularly stark. According to the Gender Gap index, Lebanon ranks third to last in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (ranked at 135), only Syria and Yemen have a worse gender gap ranking, 142 and 144 respectively (WEF, 2016: 228). Since 2010, Lebanon has seen a consistent decline in its global index rank and relative gender gap score.

Darouna, aims to provide women with empowerment opportunities in south Mount Lebanon.