Hakaya: How the stories of today's generation will be the inspiration for the foundation of the next

UNICEF Lebanon supports GIL in the sharing of tales of challenges and success

Who better to inspire tomorrow’s citizens than today's young generation? For a genuinely stirring four hours, and under the umbrella of the Generation of Innovation Leaders (GIL) programme supported by UNICEF Lebanon in partnership with INJAZ Lebanon, the Nawaya Network, and DOT Lebanon, Beirut’s Pierre Abou Khater Theatre was packed with children from the city’s schools engrossed to hear the tales of fellow citizen’s challenges and rise to success.

Hosted by Omar Itani – founder of local NGO Fabric Aid – eight young speakers from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Yemen delivered passionate accounts of their lives. 

“When I was at school,” Omar recalls, “I was really the worst student, and I used to dream of doing something else which would make me distinguished. I hit upon the idea to launch Fabric Aid, and people believed in our capacities and gave us an opportunity. They provided us with the required funds and training, and I was able, with 17 other people, to achieve great success. However, I didn’t face the same difficult conditions that exist in Lebanon in 2019. But you will see today eight young people who achieved significantly greater success than I did, and they did it in the face of far more difficult circumstances”.

"You will see today eight young people who achieved significantly greater success than I did, and they did it in the face of far more difficult circumstances." Omar Itani, founder of Fabric Aid.

Funded by Germany through the German Development Bank KfW and by the Government of the Netherlands, with community partners Mouvement Social, Rural Entrepreneurs, UNRWA, and the Lebanese University, the day’s eight speakers included Hind Hanafi, a young Palestinian girl whose passion for football may have broken her society’s code but, through tragedy, drove her to establish a project for the benefit of other girls in her community.

Hind said, “What scares me is to fall and never stand up again; to quit; to die unnoticed; to die without making my mark on the world. I want my girl’s football academy to be MY mark”.

"Storytelling has existed since the beginning of time as a powerful method of communication." Tanya Chapuisat, UNICEF representative in Lebanon.

UNICEF’s country representative in Lebanon, Tanya Chapusiat, commented “Storytelling has existed since the beginning of time as a powerful method of communication. Today, we’ve used the storytelling of incredible entrepreneurs who’ve told their story of how GIL has taken them from one step and moved them to the next.

“Our goal today is to have others hear their story and to convince them, and people like them, to become part of GIL; to join us in this wonderful movement because it is another connection that they can make and another level of entrepreneurship," she added.

Many of the stories were genuinely moving, perhaps none more so than that from Mohammad Kaddour. At the age of 11, and recently arrived in Lebanon to escape Syria’s civil war, it would be good to imagine him playing, colouring, and having fun with the family. However, Mohammad’s story is different. At 11-years-old, he was responsible for a family of nine. He had to work in physically demanding jobs. He became ill and depressed, he became bedridden. Nonetheless, he never gave up and has gone on to establish a career as an artist – all through the support of Nawaya and GIL.

Mohammad commented, “With Nawaya’s support, I took the first step to success. I wanted to be able to support my family again. I wanted to provide to my siblings with the opportunities I was deprived of; most importantly, an education. I did this through art.”

Through other challenges and their ultimate success, speakers overcame resistance to race, religion, nationality, and gender. And all, through the commitment of UNICEF and GIL's implementing partners INJAZ, Nawaya, and DOT, created enduring legacies for the benefit of others who may face identical challenges as they grow.

While every speaker delivered a unique story, they each share one identifying characteristic: the determination to succeed.