The Makhzoumi Foundation’s Environment and Development program going strong in Lebanon

The Makhzoumi Foundation has been a valuable Strategic Partner of MIO-ECSDE and gracious donor. The Foundation’s Environment and Development program, one of five, aims to improve the environment as a valuable asset and to focus on empowering women, children, and youth to reinforce their role as active and responsible citizens who affect change in their communities, leading the road towards sustainable development.

Some environmental activities focusing on empowering women and youth, that took place in the period March-June 2023, were the following:

Yalla Nefroz (Let’s Sort) was launched in 2016, after the waste crisis of 2015 in Lebanon. The project collects, sorts, and sends non-organic solid household wastes for recycling. Since 2021, this project continuously expanded to include 38 stations/drop-off points in pharmacies, schools, shops, etc. From March to June 2023, 3350 Kg of non-organic waste (plastics, metal, paper, glass…) was collected from all the drop-off points in Beirut and transferred by the Yalla Nefroz truck to the Monte Verde Plant.

Agroforestry Nursery was initiated by Makhzoumi Foundation in 2001 aiming to cultivate ornamental and fruit trees as well as herbs and roses in Akkar, North Lebanon, to be distributed to schools, universities, local NGOs, municipalities, and communities countrywide. From March 2023-June 2023, 2050 plants were produced including roses, begonias, geranium ornamentals as well as loquat, avocado, and citrus saplings.

The women empowering activities of the Makhzoumi Foundation include the organization of workshops where the women participants acquire new skills with the aim to lead them to financial independence. Examples of these workshops include chocolate molding and decorating workshops, agricultural techniques workshops, soap-making and decorating workshops, and flower distillation workshops. Some beneficiaries from the crafting workshops participated twice at the “Souk el Balad” market of local products celebrating Mother’s Day and Teacher’s Day, where bracelets, earrings, jars, boxes, and dolls, were sold.

In alignment with the Foundation’s vision to promote digitalisation and empower youth, the vocational training program signed in April 2023 an MOU with ITLS-LB to partner and launch the Microsoft Skills Championship Lebanon and to support young talents in Technology. In May 2023, 600 students out of 1200 participants, from 30 schools, obtained certificates accredited by Microsoft. These students were trained at Makhzoumi Foundation laboratories, and 100 of them reached the championship. 18 winners were announced for the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe categories and will represent Lebanon in the World Championship, which is planned to happen in July 2023 in Florida, USA.

Read in French here