Amel Association International celebrated the opening of its Health and Human Capacity Development Centers after renovating both of its centers in the Hay Al-Salam area.
The representative of the Mayor of Choueifat, Hassan Abu Faraj, Randa Halawi, a member of the municipality and the official in charge of the cultural office in the municipality of Choueifat, Diana Rahal, representative of the Mayor of Al-Mreijeh, and other local actors attended the opening ceremony, which was held at the Human Capacity Development Center, where they were received by the Amel founding president, Dr. Kamel Mohanna, and general manager of the Association, Mr. Ahmed Abboud, two members of the administrative board, Dr. Qassem Alloush, responsible for the health center, Dr. Zeina Mohanna, Amel USA president Eng. Asaad Mohanna, and the teams of the two centers.
Mr. Ahmed Abboud presided over the ceremony, and he stated that the step of rehabilitating the two centers fell within the framework of Amel’s endeavor to improve the quality and scope of its programs, with the goal of supporting the greatest number of residents of the area, who have been receiving various forms of support for decades, and Amel considers them a safe haven in all circumstances. In the face of the marginalization of the neighborhoods and areas of Hay al-Salam, which is inhabited by over 20,000 Lebanese and hosts approximately ten thousand displaced Syrians, and whose residents live below the poverty line as a result of neglect and the absence of development projects over the past decades.
Dr. Kamel Mohanna delivered a speech in which he welcomed the attendees, thanking their support for the “Amel” march and its message among the people, considering that the existing partnership between the Foundation and the civil, humanitarian and municipal activities in the region is a key factor in achieving the “Amel” mission devoted to building a state of social justice, and living in a more just and more prosperous world.
He pointed out that what Amel is doing in the most marginalized areas, in partnership with the local community, aims to restore people’s dignity, and prepare the ground for radical and gradual change in the current reality, because reform in Lebanon is very difficult, especially when most of the change projects are based on words and not action. Talking about problems and describing them.
“Lebanon has a very strong corrupted system,” he said, “which is why we believe that the change we seek must take place in stages, and that it will not be achieved for us all at once, but rather gradually and through young men and women full of hope and loaded with the values of justice and democracy.” He also stated that the Amel is a social change movement, and that the accumulation of comparable experiences is the means for change in the direction of developing a civic state and a human person – a citizen.
Mohanna additionally addressed the significance of having a “worker” in the Al-Salam district since 1980, when the center helped more than ten thousand women and girls participate in the labor market and public life through vocational training courses that continue to this day in tandem with primary health care programs and other social programs. This contributed to the strengthening of Amel’s relationship with the residents of HayEl-Selom and the surrounding neighborhood, and created a safe haven for people to express themselves and their talents, unleash their energies, and be motivated to participate in the development of their region, because “Amel” is a human and national liberation movement that chose to empower the human being.
Mohanna considered that ensuring people’s rights in popular areas was a victory over the reality of marginalization and poverty, but that this task could not be completed without close collaboration with municipalities, because municipalities are responsible for developing regions, and humanitarian institutions must be supportive and supportive of them. And not because of it, as Amel attempted to entrench in Lebanese legislation, since Amel believes in the purpose of the welfare state and believes that humanitarian action should be used to persuade governments to change policies in the interests of the people, not in place of the presence of state institutions.
Finally, ribbons were cut in the health facility and the human capacity development center.
