CAROLINE BAZZI

Beirut- the Lebanese Democratic Women's Gathering (RDFL), which shared its plans for 2022 at the end of 2021, announced that they revised their plans for 2022 due to the ongoing economic crisis in Lebanon. We spoke to Sara El Outa, board member of the RDFL, about the organization’s activities and plans for 2022.

“The Lebanese Democratic Women's Gathering provides legal, psychological and social support for women survivors of violence. But due to the economic crisis, we have provided financial support and transportation allowance to the survivors of violence for two years. We have distributed hygiene products to women because the prices of hygiene products have increased particularly after the explosion at Beirut's port on August 4, 2020. The economic situation has deteriorated further, and we have also provided counseling services not only for women and survivors of violence, but also young people and those suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome” Sara El Outa told us.

Awareness-raising activities in rural areas

Underlining that they included awareness-raising campaigns in their plans for 2022, Sara El Outa said, “We will launch awareness-raising campaigns and activities in the rural areas of Tripoli, Akkar and Joub Jannine. We will organize training courses in these areas.”

Stating that they will work coordinately with other women’s organizations to empower women’s economy, Sara El Outa said, “We developed a strategic plan in 2019. But when we read it last September, we realized that it was no longer appropriate at all due to the economic and social situation in the country. We revised it according to the needs of our society. We have applied to UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA , Plan International, and many other international organizations to find funds. We have already submitted our projects to some European embassies such as the Swedish Embassy or the German Embassy to support women economically. UN Women organized meetings in Lebanon.  Thanks to them, we could get more funds, particularly for the economic empowerment of women and girls.”