Recreational activities in the community

Residents, children and youngsters from the community worked together every year to prepare celebrations especially on the occasion of Christmas and New Year. They invested their time and ideas to organize community events through cooperation and active participation.

They also teamed up to create a holiday atmosphere in their neighborhoods through outdoor decorations.

Calendars

In 2006, bilingual wall calendars (in Arabic and Armenian) started being prepared every year through community efforts and issued by the Community Development Core Committee. Themes included:

• The best works of the children’s drawing competition (October 2005)  as part the first Cleaning Campaign.
• Photos of events focusing on activities for children, teenagers and the youth in the area.
• Pictures of the sceneries of the neighborhood.

Armenian individuals, private business owners, donors and institutions contributed to the publication of these calendars. Free copies were distributed to all residents, and were also sent to all organizations and institutions that cooperated with the Core Committee or the Community Development Team.

Promoting a healthy lifestyle

Starting in March 2008, women in the area were given the opportunity to exercise at an affordable price in the Health Club of the Armenian Fund for Health Insurance in Lebanon (AFHIL), helping them to stay fit and healthy, and to improve their self-confidence.

Workshops

The residents were often invited to participate in workshops, discussions and lectures on various topics. The goal was to give them practical tips on issues related to their daily lives, provide them with new or updated knowledge about certain hot topics, and raise awareness on common social, economic, health and other problems.

In 2007, a workshop was held for the residents on “Domestic Accidents, Safety, Emergency and First-Aid Tips.” Awareness about the topic was also raised through posters that were prepared and erected in the neighborhood.