Lebanese youth volunteer to serve the community after Beirut blast

The immediate and massive mobilization of youth volunteers to clean up destroyed houses and to provide food and basic needs to the affected families in the following days of the devastating August Beirut Blast has been a symbol of hope of the country to rise again from the worsening politico –economic critical situations. 2 months after, “Live well to serve Better” initiative was launched jointly by UNESCO and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SSVPLB) in Bourj Hamoud, on 18 Oct 2020. It was designed to address some fatigue of youth volunteers in frontline and aims to enhance their skills on self-care and resilience to better serve the communities in distress and in need. A group of 100 youth volunteers will benefit from the psychosocial support session and training of their regular house visits of affected families in distress.

“This workshop helped me understand how to manage and overcome factors which causes stress. I was profoundly impacted by this workshop as it was a catalyst for personal and professional life transforming change”, said Randa Azzi, an SSVP volunteer. “What helped me most was to realize that I need to accept that I am the one who needs and makes changes in order to reduce my stress levels and to improve my social working environment. Some of us has resilience is lower than others, but we learned how to boost our ability to cope, thrive and flourish in this time of desperate needs.”

“As trainers and facilitators, this workshop puts us in contact with the distress the youth might be experiencing during those times of Corona pandemic and acute economic and financial crisis in Lebanon, topped by the Beirut blast. It provides us with an opportunity to grow our own resilience by sharing with them tools to enhance their coping with stress, connect with their sense of purpose in life and nurture their resilience skills.”