“We Are Lebanon,” which rings a bell for almost every Lebanese who has come across the name on different social media platforms, has recently turned into an officially registered NGO.
As its name suggests, this NGO’s activities are of a patriotic nature, with a history of promoting the beautiful and positive side of Lebanon, both locally and internationally, even during the country's darkest times.
Wael Yaman, the NGO’s founder, says it started its work in 2012 as an online movement seeking to bring together Lebanese of different affiliations, in addition to connecting the Lebanese diaspora to their homeland.
“After having created this neutral patriotic identity, we decided to take our activity to the next level by registering WAL as an NGO a few months ago,” Yaman says.
“Our main goal is to support Lebanon and the Lebanese,” he adds. “We have promoted the beautiful side of Lebanon and the Lebanese during our most difficult times. We also support Lebanese, residing in Lebanon or outside, by shedding light on their activities and achievements, in addition to supporting the different sectors of the Lebanese economy, including local tourism, innovative startups, as well as local industry and agriculture.
Among WAL’s most recent accomplishments is its collaboration with a local poultry company in which they distributed around 300 kilograms of chicken during Eid al-Adha to a number of needy families in different regions around Lebanon, in response to the ongoing financial crisis affecting the purchasing power of the Lebanese.
At the time the corona pandemic lockdown started, WAL had also started two live shows on its platform, including “Instaviews,” presented by journalist Sally Farhat, and “3al Lebneni,” presented by journalist Natasha Salloum. The two shows have hosted a number of outstanding Lebanese stars, among them George Khabaz, Ward el Khal, Anjo Rihan, Salim Assaf, Elsa Zgheib, Wissam Sabagh, Guy Manoukian and many others.
In response to the massive blast at Beirut Port that devastated much of the capital, WAL has collaborated with the UN Global Compact Network in Lebanon on the “Beirut Rescue Fund” project that aims to aid victims of the Aug. 4 explosion in four different fields: food, shelter and renovation, education, and medical assistance.
Down the road, Yaman says WAL aims to work on supporting local tourism, local innovative startups, small industries located in cities and rural areas, and Lebanese products (industrial, agricultural and handcrafts).
In addition, the NGO plans to organize exhibitions that support the economy locally and internationally, raise awareness on social issues through workshops, conferences ... etc., and create a network connecting the Lebanese diaspora.
“These are things we’ve already been doing all along via our social media platforms. We’ve organically grown our audience to 122k followers on Instagram, around 200k on Facebook, and 17.3k on Twitter,” Yaman says.
“We Are Lebanon” is a message of hope sent amid all the hardships Lebanon is facing, and a success story when it comes to bringing together Lebanese of different backgrounds and promoting all the positivity one could find in this country, during these difficult times.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
