U.S. Government Continues to Provide Assistance to Tripoli

April 6, 2009

Tripoli citizens continue to benefit from the United States Government’s support and assistance programs.   Today, Ambassador Michele J. Sison and the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) Lebanon Representative Katie Prud’homme visited Maakum, a Lebanese non-governmental organization which was established in 2005.   Meeting with the Ambassador were Dr. Moustapha Allouche, a Member of Parliament, Mr. Rachid Jemali, the Mayor of Tripoli, Mrs. Ghina Allouche, the Director of Maakum  and Maakum students who benefited from the OTI grant .

Maakum works to provide educational opportunities for children and youth in the Tripoli area.  This visit highlights the U.S. Government’s support for education and Lebanon’s youngest citizens.  

OTI, a section of USAID, works throughout Lebanon assisting local Lebanese organizations to provide skills and services to citizens.  With a $50,000 grant Maakum provided job training to 58 young people, 34 of whom had left high school before completing their studies.  These participants received training on electrical appliance maintenance, and, several of them have found employment based on this training.  An additional 24 participants were university graduates, and  Maakum formed a partnership with an engineering firm, Allied for Advanced Business Company, which funded the advanced architectural software training the participants needed.  Twenty-two of the students now work for the firm either full or part time.

During Ambassador Sison’s visit to Maakum, she announced a new grant to this non-governmental organization for $51,000 from the U.S. Embassy Beirut Small Grants program.  This new grant will provide vocational training in the heating and air conditioning installation field to 60 youth from the Bab El-Tabbeneh area.

USAID has worked in Lebanon since 1951 and implemented development projects to benefit Lebanese citizens. With funds from the American people, USAID creates jobs, invests in youth and protects the environment.  USAID’s work reflects the strong friendship between the Lebanese and American people.