“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance” says someone. The educational system in Lebanon is in danger. Once the leading light of the Middle East, it is today gradually and slowly switching off.  To the Lebanese Diaspora, the old one and the new: I am calling you! Your country needs your attention!

Our children are sinking into ignorance and they need education otherwise they will be prone to radicalism, vandalism and fanaticism… It is time for you to give us a hand, to contribute by sharing your knowledge, to come virtually or physically and teach our children. You left for justified reasons but give some time to those you couldn’t leave if you want to recognize the Lebanon you knew before.

The press release from the World Bank is clear:” Beirut, June 21, 2021 – Lebanon needs to urgently embark on a comprehensive reform agenda that puts students at the center of the education sector and prioritizes quality of education for all, according to a new World Bank report released today. Low levels of learning and skills mismatch in the job market have put the future of generations of Lebanese children at risk and imply a critical need for more and better targeted investments in the sector.”

Education cannot exist if people are sick. That is why your assistance in the health system is essential. According to Medecins Sans Frontieres report, “the healthcare system in Lebanon disintegrates as political vacuum persists. People could now die from totally avoidable, and otherwise easily treatable causes, just because hospitals don’t have electricity, the right supplies or staff. Medication is becoming scarce. There is a destruction of an entire health system just as effectively as war or a natural disaster. Moreover, humanitarian organisations are overstretched.”

Lebanese Diaspora has a major role to play. As perfectly written in the Lancet Global Health: “leveraging the resources of the health workforce in the diaspora, which includes influential physicians and scientists around the world. These individuals are well positioned to lobby aid organisations, professional societies, and government to accelerate the distribution of funding, expand training capacity and even provide remote decision support.”

The Cedars Forum is the right platform for you in case you decide to support those who are still trying to manage their lives in a Lebanon where education and health are dying.