PILOT PHASE

1. THE LAUNCHING CEREMONY

The Launching ceremony was held on July 10, 2002, at the Universal College in Aley, under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Marwan Hamadé, Minister of the Displaced.
Around 100 guests attended the event and were welcomed by a committee headed by the President of Fondation Saradar. The guest list included Ministers and Members of the Parliament representing the three cazas. Presidents of the municipalities involved in the 2002 programme, United Nations Representatives, members of diplomatic missions in Lebanon, NGOs, our partners, Groupe Saradar members and the media.
A Press Kit especially prepared for this occasion was distributed to all invited persons.
 

2. THE TRAINING

The Caravan First Station - Aley (July 15 - August 3, 2002) 
The training sessions started in Aley on July 15, 2002, at 9:30 am. Although the number of candidates required for this first phase of the programme was already set and scheduled by the municipality of Aley, many parents and their youngsters arrived early that morning at "The Universal College of Aley" - where the caravan was stationed - to register for the training. All through the 21-day period during which the mobile school remained in Aley, the demand for PC and Internet learning was persistent. The need turned out to be immense and the number of candidates exceeded our capacity during this pilot phase. 
Out of the 96 participants, the Saradar mobile computer school was able to train 24 Trainers and 72 beginners over a period of three weeks.

The Caravan Second Station - Hammana (August 4 - 31, 2002) 
Around noon, the Saradar mobile school was parked next to the Hammana municipality headquarters, a charming traditional Lebanese house. The caravan was ready for its second round of training sessions, this time in the Baabda caza.
Members of the municipal council, headed by its president, Mr. Karim Abu Haidar, treated us to a very warm welcome ceremony, during which short speeches and a project presentation were delivered, followed by a cocktail held at the municipality premises. Photo and video sessions captured moments of this close partnership between local communities, public-elected bodies and a non-governmental organization.
Again, the demand for IT learning in Hammana and its neighbouring villages was very high and the municipality was overwhelmed with applicants from all ages. 
The caravan presented an unusual opportunity to local populations to discover the advantages and the unlimited new possibilities of information technology in their daily life. Municipal personnel benefited from these courses to improve their work as librarians in the beautiful, newly established library, well furnished and equipped with PCs, located on the second floor of the municipality headquarters. 
Because of unexpected logistic reasons, the caravan extended its stay in Hammana for another week. This unscheduled 6 extra days triggered an immediate turnout of candidates who had registered their names on a waiting list!

The Caravan Third Station - Deir el Qamar (September 1 - 21, 2002)
Change of plans! The historic village of Deir el Qamar (Chouf caza) will now host the Saradar mobile school, instead of Beiteddine, as initially planned.
On Sunday, September 1st, the municipality of Deir el Qamar had planned to present the caravan to the public amidst the "Estivales" event that is annually scheduled in Deir el Qamar. It was stationed next to the old car exhibition that was held that day. 
The public reaction was immediate: a combination of high curiosity and excitement, particularly among children who were thrilled by this unprecedented opportunity to enroll in a PC and Internet training programme. And the surprise and enthusiasm were even greater when youngsters learned that the mobile school was accessible to them "without money", as they put it!
 

3. GRADUATION CEREMONIES

ALEY
The first graduation ceremony was held at "The Universal College of Aley" on August 8, 2002, during which Formatech "Certificates of Achievement" were delivered to 75 trainees who completed the course.
Mrs. Marie-Claude Saradar, president of Fondation Saradar and Mr. Wajdi Mrad, president of the Municipality of Aley, attended this event and congratulated the participants for their serious commitment to this programme.

HAMMANA
The graduation ceremony in Hammana was held on Friday, September 13. More information about this event will soon be online… A large group of trainees was gathered at the municipality of Hammana for this occasion. An excited crowd of seven-year old kids, teenagers, young people, housewives and… grand-mothers ! 
A thank you note by Fondation Saradar was addressed to all participants who contributed to the success of the project with their serious commitment and enthusiasm towards such an initiative.
Graduates expressed their wish to see more of the Saradar Mobile School soon.
While she was handed her certificate of achievement, a middle-aged women announced: "Now, I have walked out of dark ages and joined the new age!"

DEIR EL QAMAR
On november 16, 2002, a graduation ceremony was held in Deir el Qamar in the presence of Mr. Dory Chamoun and Mr. Fadi Honein, president and vice-president of the municipality. Seventy-Seven trainees graduated among which boy scouts, municipal personnel, sisters and a priest.

4. SPECIAL THANKS

We would like to address our special thanks to H.E. Mr. Marwan Hamadé, Minister of the Displaced, for his enthusiasm and support towards our initiative and his patronage of the opening ceremony; and to H.E. Mr. Pierre Hélou*, Minister of State, for his personal involvement and constant availability that contributed to the success of this project.

Also, we would like to express our gratitude to Presidents and members of the Municipal Councils in the cazas of Aley, Baabda and the Chouf, who welcomed, encouraged, participated actively in the coordination and implementation of our activity. Their precious assistance and commitment have made this project possible. 

We wish to thank specifically the Universal College of Aley for their warm welcome and dedicated staff, providing us with the ideal environment to carry out our programme.

To all partner companies our deepest thanks for their generosity and particularly for their interest in serving the community, as well as for their involvement in consolidating human development in Lebanon. 

Last, but definitely not least, we wish to convey our heartfelt gratitude to:
Banque Saradar for its most valuable contribution, the construction and refurbishing of the caravan, but above all, for its commitment and engagement in sustaining social actions in every part of the country; and to its Marketing, Communication and Legal departments, for their unfailing assistance and dedication to this initiative,
Agence Saradar d'Assurances S.A.L, Logistix S.A.L (SITEL and Achats & Entretiens Departments), Compagnie de Construction Immobilière S.A.R.L, member companies of Groupe Saradar, which played an essential role, providing this project with the necessary technical expertise and support.

* H.E. Mr. Pierre Helou passed away on August 2nd, 2003. His last field activity happened to be related to the SITP: on July 29th, 2003, he was attending a ceremony held by the municipality of Bhamdoun village to welcome the caravan scheduled to station there for a period of four weeks. Fondation Saradar will always remember him with great respect and appreciation for his invaluable support and dedication to its cultural and educational activities.
 

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                     THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

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                     SUMMER PROGRAMMES (2003-2004)

TOURING THE DISPLACED VILLAGES: YEAR 2-SUMMER 2003

For the second year in a row, the ‘Saradar IT Programme’ is fulfilling its commitment (made last July during the launching ceremony in Aley) to dedicate, each summer, its free IT training courses to the villages of displacement located in the three cazas of Baabda, Aley and the Chouf. This year however, the itinerary was established to cover the lower parts of these regions as opposed to the 2002 calendar: the caravan stationed in Araya, in Bhamdoun, Kfarhim and in Kfarhouna.

A new destination was included in the SITP summer programme 2003: the caza of Jezzine, another region in Lebanon that deeply suffered from displacement as a result of Israeli occupation of this part of the country.
 

The summer 2003 schedule

Date	Beneficiaries	Location
June 2 – June 28	LPHU & Dr. M. Khaled Foundation	UNESCO Palace, Beirut
June 28 – July 27	Araya & surrounding villages	Municipality of Araya,Caza Baabda
July 27 – Aug. 24	Bhamdoun village & surrounding villages	Municipality of Bhamdoun village, Caza Aley
Aug. 24 – Sept. 14	Kfarhim & surrounding villages	Municipality of Kfarhim,Caza Chouf
Sept. 14 – Oct. 4	Kfarhouna & surrounding villages	Kfarhouna central square, Caza Jezzine

The organisation
The project implementation in the selected villages require several preliminary field visits and coordination meetings with the concerned municipalities in order to ensure the success of this IT initiative. Fondation Saradar has developed standard registration forms and procedures to facilitate the administrative work of the coordinating person in charge.

In every village scheduled, the rate of participation was very high and a waiting list was established in case a registered candidate failed to attend the courses. And each location, the municipality faced with an overwhelming demand, requested an extension of the training period. But the caravan tight summer timetable could not allow any modification in the pre-set calendar.

As usual, graduation ceremonies were held after the training sessions were completed. Photo and video coverage was provided by Fondation Saradar to capture the best moments of the 2003 SITP activities.


The participating villages

ARAYA	BHAMDOUN	KFARHIM	KFARHOUNA
1. Araya	1. Ain al Jedideh	1. Ammick	1. Ain Majdalein
2. Chouit	2. Ain al Halzounieh	2. Bchetfine	2. Armita
3. Jaret Hamzeh	3. Bhamdoun Village	3. Benweyteh	3. Aychiyeh
4. Qotayleh	4. Bhamdoun el Mohatta	4. Deir Baba	4. Jezzine
5. Ras el Harf	5. Chanay	5. Deir Dourit	5. Kfarhouna
	6. Mansourieh	6. Deir Fakoud	6. Mlikh
	7. Roueisset an Naaman	7. Deir Koucheh	7. Rihan
	8. Taazanieh	8. Dmit	8. Wadi Jezzine
		9. Jahiliyeh
		10.Kfarhim
		11. Kneysseh
		12. Serjbel
		13. Wadi Benhley

SITP summer 2003 in figures
-Village participation:

	Araya	Bhamdoun	Kfarhim	Kfarhouna	TOTAL
Groups	16	16	12	10	54
Hours	192	192	144	120	648
Week	4	4	3	3	14
Days	24	24	18	18	74
Participants	130	128	99	80	437
-Males	82	83	68	50	283
-Females	46	45	31	30	152
Trainees	125	80	96	75	376

 -In percentages:

	Araya	Bhamdoun	Kfarhim	Kfarhouna
Males	64	65	69	62.5
Females	40	35	31	32.5

SITP summer 2003 in comments

Aurore Antoun Araya	“I hope this session will be repeated because very useful, but not sufficient.”
Micheline Irani Araya	“Thank you very much because I learned many things in Word and in the Internet.”
Antoine Mhez Bahmdoun village	“We want more (training) hours. The course was very good and funny.”
Zaher el Habr Bhamdoun village	“A lot of persons want to take these classes. Please return to Bahmdoun.”
Zeina Boukhzam Kfarhim	“The session was good and useful, but too short.”
Sawsan Qayss Kfarhim	“This session was good, but we need more hours. Interested in Internet courses.”
Randa Haddad Kfarhouna	“This course was very interesting. Thank you.”
Elias Haddad Kfarhouna	“You should do a course with a duration of more than 3 days in order to get more information.”

TOURING THE DISPLACED VILLAGES: YEAR 3-SUMMER 2004

The calendar
For the third year in a row, the 'Saradar IT Programme' dedicated its summer programme to the villages of displacement located in the three cazas of Baabda, Aley, the Chouf and Jezzine. The 2004 itinerary was established to cover the following locations and surrounding villages:

SUMMER PROGRAMME 2004
1. Rechmaya   - Chartoun   - Rmayleh   - Kfar Abey   - Selfaya   - Mazraat en Nahr   - Ghaboun- Bserrine   - Habrmoun- Remhala   - Maassreyti   - Doueir el remman   - Ain Trez	Caza Aley	June 28 - July 24
2. Kfarchima   - Wadi Chahrour   - Betchay   - Bseba   - Haret el Sitt	Caza Baabda	July 26 - August 21
3. Maaser el Chouf   - El Khraybeh   - Al Mukhtara   - Al barouk   - Batloun   - Baadaran   - Mresty	Caza Chouf	August 23 - September 11
4. Jezzine   - Wadi Jezzine   - Aaray   - Room   - Bkessine   - Qaytouleh   - Sfaray   - Azour	Caza Jezzine	September 13 - October 2

The organisation
The project's implementation in the selected villages required several preliminary field visits and coordination meetings with the concerned municipalities in order to ensure the success of this IT initiative. Fondation Saradar developed standard registration forms and procedures to facilitate the administrative work of the coordinating person in charge.
The participation rate was very high in all the selected villages and a waiting list was established in case a registered candidate failed to attend the courses At every location, the municipality, faced with an overwhelming demand, requested an extension of the training period. But the caravan's tight summer timetable could not allow any modification in the pre-set calendar.

As usual, graduation ceremonies were held after the training sessions were completed. Photo and video coverage was provided by Fondation Saradar to capture the best moments of the 2003 SITP activities.


SITP summer 2004 in figures
-Village participation:

Village	Groups	Hours	Weeks	Days	Participants	Male	Female	Trainees
Rachmaya	18	241.5	4	24	143	70	73	126
Kfarchima	16	216	4	24	128	56	72	128
Maasser el Chouf	12	162	3	18	94	46	48	84
Jezzine	12	162	3	18	78	21	57	61

SITP summer 2004 in comments

Youssef Farid Riman Policeman, Maasser el Chouf	"We thank Saradar for all the social, financial and personal efforts undertaken in disseminating awareness in order to achieve an educated society and to spread knowledge even in remote villages. Thank you very much."
Maher Abou Nasr Student, Kfarchima	"I learned a lot of things I had not heard of before. I will come next year if there are more courses."
Antoine Youssef Assaf Jezzine.	"The course is very well organised. I wish it could last more."
Wadih Radi Student, Kfarchima	"The courses were so important. I invite all persons interested in computers to join your programme."
Nagham Abou Sakhra University student, Maasser el Chouf	"It is interesting to have such courses provided in our village, to develop people, especially housewives."

Renewing bonds between communities: A success story.

Ongoing session at Berytech.

TOURING THE DISPLACED VILLAGES: YEAR 4-SUMMER 2005

The Calendar
For the third year in a row, the ‘Saradar IT Programme’ dedicated its summer programme to the villages of displacement located in the three cazas of Baabda, Aley, the Chouf and Jezzine. The 2005 itinerary was established to cover the following new locations and surrounding villages:

Summer Programme
1. Abadieh	Caza Baabda	July 25 – August 6
2. Ain Dara	Caza Aley	August 8 – September 3
3. Lebaa	Caza Jezzine	September 5 – October 1

The training calendar in the displaced villages showed a particularity due to the parliamentary elections held this year that required the direct and full involvement of municipalities, thus shortening the period usually allocated to the four cazas that experienced internal migration. The village of Ain Dara in the caza of Aley was specifically chosen because of its geographic location that borders the caza of the Chouf. This way, the SITP second stop could include villages from the Chouf as well, consequently combining two stations in one.


The achievements
• Promoting Lebanese villages
In Abadieh and Ain Dara, the SITP was implemented in partnership with the ‘Baldati.com’ association that planned and coordinated the caravan activity in these two regions. A special ‘Baldati’ training session was scheduled at the end of the Internet course to introduce its portal dedicated to promote Lebanese villages in the country and abroad.

One of the purposes of the ‘Saradar IT Programme’ in the cazas of displacement is to encourage and consolidate the social ties between diverse local communities through its educational action. By bringing together villages in a ‘cultural cluster’ overcoming their long-standing cleavages and numerous differences, the SITP has become in many cases, the starting point to a rapprochement between populations in Mount Lebanon. In Ain Dara for instance, where the caravan was hosted for a period of 4 weeks, the foundations’ e-literacy activity triggered the curiosity and interest of all neighbouring municipalities that immediately answered Ain Dara’s call to enrol in the project. This initiative contributed to re-establish and facilitate direct contacts between Ain Dara and its surrounding villages at a time when all relations among them remained distant. Because of the SITP administrative requirements and the necessary mobilisation efforts, coordination visits were held among participating villages which consolidated ties among local communities. This breakthrough as well as the enthusiasm expressed by his counterparts prompted the President of the municipality of Ain Dara to take one step further and present to his neighbours a water waste management project proposal that would benefit to the whole region. This initiative was welcomed by other municipality presidents who unanimously subscribed to the proposal and decided to lobby collectively for the adoption of this project by the concerned government authorities. The SITP can be proud of this success story that confirmed and achieved its set objectives to develop and strengthen social bonds between the villages that suffered major displacement of entire populations as a result of political conflicts.

• Follow up Training at Berytech Technological Pole
The partnership with ‘Baldati.com’ included additional training sessions to the best twenty trainees enrolled in the SITP. The selection of these candidates was undertaken by Formatech and their names communicated to ‘Baldati.com’ through Fondation Saradar.
The privileged participants benefited from a specific training course tailored by Baldati at Berytech technological pole.


 

TOURING THE DISPLACED VILLAGES: YEAR 5-SUMMER 2006

Every year, the SITP dedicates the summer season to the four cazas of displacement: Baabda, Aley, the Chouf and Jezzine. The objective is to encourage the displaced populations to return to their villages after years of internal migration. The 2006 calendar included the villages of Roueysset el Ballout (Baabda); Souk el Gharb (Aley); and finally Deir Dourit (Chouf).
As planned, the Caravan stated its summer journey in Roueysset el Ballout, where the municipality and the inhabitants alike welcomed the initiative with excitement and showed serious commitment during the courses that started on July 3rd. The demand for more sessions was soon conveyed to Fondation Saradar by the municipal council members who asked for an extension of the training period in this location. Unfortunately, this request could not be met: the war that broke out on July 12th interrupted all activities that were suspended for more than a month. The SITP was stranded in Roueysset el Ballout and could not be moved out, even after the cessation of hostilities: the continuous air surveillance by the Israeli air force and the threat of targeting long vehicles on the main roads. Only in September, when the land-air-sea blockade was lifted over Lebanon, the mobile school was able to leave its forced location after a banner was mounted on the caravan roof top, as a preventive measure, to secure the technicians’ and the vehicle’s safety during towing processes.

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