September 21 is International World Day of Peace. In Lebanon, World Vision promotes this goal at a camp counselor training program, where Lebanese and Palestinian youth learn to work with and accept each other.

September 21, 2007

By Jessy Chahine, World Vision Communications Officer, Lebanon

World Vision "practices what it preaches" in Lebanon.

Earlier this year, Tony Matar, World Vision's relief manager there, emphasized: "World Vision will continue to support a peaceful future for Lebanon by working with people from all communities to ensure children in Lebanon can enjoy life in all its fullness."

In keeping with this commitment, staff recently made a gutsy decision, enrolling 36 Lebanese and 10 Palestinian volunteer youth to train side-by-side to become camp counselors for a children's summer camp sponsored by World Vision.

'Endeavor is the First of Its Kind'

In a region where mistrust runs deep between the Lebanese and Palestinian people, the decision was groundbreaking. "This endeavor is the first of its kind," explains Marianne Bitar Karam, World Vision's Palestinian refugees program manager in Lebanon.

The four-day training program — attended by youth, ages 16-22, from World Vision's Beirut program and the Burj el Barajneh Palestinian camp in Beirut — was held in the Chouf area, located southeast of the country's capital city.

To help prepare them for the responsibility of supervising camp attendees, the counselors-in-training learned about safety preparedness and child protection. They were also exposed to a new concept staff added to this year's training curriculum — acceptance.

Differences: 'Source of Enrichment'

"We live in a very colorful society, and our youth have to learn to accept their differences and think of them as a source of mutual enrichment, and not as a barrier of communication [to] peaceful living," says Roula Saade, a World Vision training facilitator in Lebanon.

Initially, the 46 participants voiced skepticism about training together; however, by the end of the four days, many Lebanese and Palestinian youth had befriended one another.

Not only did the youth prepare for a summer of serving children with World Vision; they also built authentic relationships that transcended their differences.

Friendships Blossom

"I remember a Lebanese youngster who, at the very first day of the training, was scared and doubtful of the way he would approach his Palestinian peer," says Saade. "Then, at the last day, he had such a hard time leaving the camp's premises because he grew so attached to his new Palestinian friends."

One Palestinian youth drew a flower with multi-colored petals, explaining: "The flower is our society and the petals are us. The beauty of this flower lies in its many colors."

Finally, at the conclusion of the training, to signify their newfound unity, the 46 young people painted a large flag — half Palestinian and half Lebanese — with the World Vision logo in the middle.