!مخيم بينحكى فيه

The Lebanese Universities’ league for the blind invites you to
Teen Arabic Summer Camp 12-17 y/o

Deir Mar Yaacoub, Zgharta, North of Lebanon 16-22 July 2023

How does your teen spend their summer? If you’d like your teen to build their Arabic language skills while exploring Phoenician, Roman, Ottoman, and Abbasid archeological sites, the Teens Arabic Summer Camp (TASC) is for you.

 

TASC helps campers aged 12-17 y/o strengthen and expand their Arabic fluency in a safe and judgement-free space. We’ve partnered with Lebanese University’s League for the Blind (LULB) who will nominate five blind teens to participate in TASC, creating a diverse and inclusive environment for all campers.

 

The organizers at TASC will ensure that everyone, including those with disabilities, is able to participate in the complete camp experience, being fully integrated with their peers. Campers will live and work together, learning to respect and value human diversity and gaining a greater understanding of human dignity

Who should attend

In addition to five blind young teens who are very fluent in Arabic, we are accepting up to 10 teens who are learning Arabic as a foreign language and teen Arab expats (ages 12-17) who understand Arabic but don’t have the confidence to speak it.

Location

Deir Mar Yaacoub, Karm Saddeh is a small cozy monastery in Zgharta. In addition to the monastery’s staff, TASC’s organizers and attendees will be the only residents of the monastery for the whole duration for the camp. Campers will be paired up: 2 campers per bedroom. Each room will have its own bathroom and air conditioner. The electricity generator will be turned off at midnight every night.

Insurance

Campers and organizers will be insured throughout the camp.

What to Bring

Sunscreen and bug repellent for outdoors activities. Yoga mat for daily exercise. Although there will be Wi-Fi on the camp premises, campers will be expected to have a smartphone with 3G service for internet access on field trips.

Our Team
Abraham Abdallah
Senior Consultant

Abraham Abdallah has extensive experience working in the fields of disability rights, humanitarian actions, inclusive education and employment, accessibility and assistive technology. Furthermore, as a human rights activist, he has a particular interest in advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities.

Mr. Abdallah has a bachelor of arts in Business Finance and Political Science and a Master’s degree in international Law.

Mr. Abdallah is the former President of the Arab Organization of Persons with Disabilities and an IDA board member, and currently he is an executive board Member of the National Council on Disability in Lebanon.

Mr. Abdallah is a consultant on disability and old age for the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and most recently he was a consultant on disability for ESCWA. In addition, he was a local expert on social protection and employment for PWDs with ILO and was teaching a course on human rights and disability at USAL and Al-kafaat University. Recently, he finished coordinating many projects related to disability with OHCHR and IFRC.

Previously Mr. Abdallah served as the Dean of Inclusive Education and the director of the Center for Students with disability (CSD) at Al-kafaat University, and he was a member of the Lebanese official delegation for negotiations on the CRPD at the United Nations, from 2002 to 2006. He participated in the discussions and promoted the rights of persons with disabilities.
Mr. Abdallah is an experienced trainer on topics such as human rights, social protection, social inclusion, capacity building, inclusive education and employment, and data collection, and he has been delivering training sessions tackling these topics in Beirut, Damascus, Amman, Khartoum and Cairo.

Mr. Abdallah has contributed to various publications related to disability rights and also has been quite active in the disability field in Lebanon, the Arab region and on the international arena.

Jana Bakaev
Yoga Instructor

A certified yoga teacher who has been training in gymnastics since 2010. She holds a bachelor degree in Psychology and went into yoga after graduation as a preferred healing strategy for both the mind and the body.

Jihad Haidar
Educator and Curriculum Developer

A parent of 4 young teens. He loves the Arabic language and Arabic music. He holds a bachelor degree in history and has worked in managing high schools and developing curricula in history and Arabic literature. He currently teaches Arabic, Philosophy, Social Sciences and History at Notre Dame de Bekfteen High School in North Lebanon.

Rouba Dabbagh
Organizer

A parent of 3 and loves the Arabic language. In her teen years, she participated in many inclusive summer camps all over Lebanon. She holds a Master’s in Management of Development and another in Urban and Social Policies. Rouba is currently a social entrepreneur and an independent consultant on social and economic issues.

Noel Tyan
Director of the Camp

th­­e president of LULB. She is currently an employee at the Ministry of Finance. She holds a bachelor in English literature and has been a disability rights activist for more than 20 years.

Khalil Makari
Senior Advisor

An advisor, researcher and educator. He is a parent of 2 young adults, and he loves Arabic history and the Arabic language. He holds a bachelor in History. He contributed to the development of the history curriculum in many Arab countries, taught history at many high schools and currently works as an independent consultant.