Lebanon
Stories from change-makers in Lebanon
Samiha has been living in Lebanon since fleeing Syria in 2013.
“I remember the war and fleeing very well,” she says. “I cried as we packed. My brother and older sister didn’t come with us. They are still there and living in great danger.”
Life as a refugee girl is tough. Samiha is frequently subjected to sexual harassment in the street, and girls from Syria are particularly targeted.
Child marriage is another problem that has been on the rise in Lebanon. When Samiha herself was 17, she was almost married off. But after attending a Plan workshop, she has learned more about her rights.
“I have learned more about why child marriage is detrimental,” she says. “It is a threat to the girl’s health and life. It prevents her from getting an education and a profession — all her future prospects. She loses all her rights and her freedom.”
Some people pressure Samiha to get married young. But she doesn’t listen to them, only to her own instincts.
“Who says that I even want to get married?” Samiha says. “I want to decide my future and live my life.”
Learn more about our child marriage prevention work
Life as a refugee girl is tough. Samiha is frequently subjected to sexual harassment in the street, and girls from Syria are particularly targeted.
Child marriage is another problem that has been on the rise in Lebanon. When Samiha herself was 17, she was almost married off. But after attending a Plan workshop, she has learned more about her rights.
“I have learned more about why child marriage is detrimental,” she says. “It is a threat to the girl’s health and life. It prevents her from getting an education and a profession — all her future prospects. She loses all her rights and her freedom.”
Some people pressure Samiha to get married young. But she doesn’t listen to them, only to her own instincts.
“Who says that I even want to get married?” Samiha says. “I want to decide my future and live my life.”
On International Day of the Girl (IDG), Rasha set out on a two-hour drive to Beirut, heading to the offices of global advertising agency, Leo Burnett.
She was participating in a Plan International Girl Takeover on IDG, where girls and young women occupy spaces where they are rarely seen and heard, and make it clear they have the right to be there without being silenced.
“Why don’t we see fathers preparing lunch alongside the mothers?” Rasha asked the creative team at Leo Burnett, while taking part in a brainstorm for a baking product ad.
Her ideas influenced the concept of the commercial; showing the father in the ad as an active family member breaks the gender stereotype, which will now reach audiences across Lebanon.
“The way girls and young women are represented in advertising shapes the way in which the world views girls and how they view themselves,” she says.
Having participated in the Girl Takeover with Plan, she’s even more determined to fight for gender equality throughout her community and country. “I feel excited and happy because I was able to influence the agency with new insights about the representation of girls and women,” says Rasha.
Learn more about our youth advocacy work
“Why don’t we see fathers preparing lunch alongside the mothers?” Rasha asked the creative team at Leo Burnett, while taking part in a brainstorm for a baking product ad.
Her ideas influenced the concept of the commercial; showing the father in the ad as an active family member breaks the gender stereotype, which will now reach audiences across Lebanon.
“The way girls and young women are represented in advertising shapes the way in which the world views girls and how they view themselves,” she says.
Having participated in the Girl Takeover with Plan, she’s even more determined to fight for gender equality throughout her community and country. “I feel excited and happy because I was able to influence the agency with new insights about the representation of girls and women,” says Rasha.
Plan International has been working to improve children’s lives in Lebanon since 2017.
Our work in Lebanon
Offices & operations
Plan Lebanon’s country office is located in Beirut, with program offices in Saida, Mount-Lebanon, Tripoli, Akkar, Baalbeck and Zahle.
Technical areas
Protection, education, sexual and reproductive health, emergency response and youth leadership.
Gender equality is a fight we must all take on together. Through sponsorship, you can change lives and create long-term impact in communities.
The full circle of Fate
When you sponsor a child through Plan, you form an incredible friendship.
But that’s just the beginning. With Plan, you also have the unique opportunity to:
Send them birthday gifts and cards.
Give them special holiday presents called Little Treasures.
Subscribe them to Plan’s educational kids’ magazine, Sunny Days.
Arrange a visit (pending any travel restrictions), with individual travel assistance from us.
Each gift offering is safely hand-delivered by us, and given to your child with personalized cards from you. It’s likely that the child you sponsor will have never seen anything like these gifts, and with the exception of Little Treasures they’re available year-round to make the bond between you and your sponsored child even stronger.
Meet a child to sponsor