Friends of F.A.I.D. Ireland   

BRIEF with FAID in Beirut, Lebanon

Report by Evan George Brief Trainer

In March BRIEF delivered a three-day programme at the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf in Beirut, Lebanon. The Institute works with children aged between 3 and 19 drawn from across the whole of the Lebanese population, representing all of the faith groups in the population, a fact that is remarkable in itself given the years of strife and civil war between them. Many of the children weekly board at the Institute. Also present on the programme were professionals working with children in the Palestinian Refugee camps in Lebanon and a group working in a school for visually impaired people in the Beqaa Valley.

The welcome and the hospitality offered by the participants and the organisers was remarkable and all of the participants showed real interest in the solution focused approach and what it could offer them for their work. Those working at the Institute commented on the value of an approach which built on their students’ talents and abilities and talked about how helpful this could be in developing the students’ self-confidence in a challenging world made even tougher by their disabilities. The planning for how to take the BRIEF solution focused approach forward as the basis for the school’s way of working with the children is already beginning and enthusiastic initiatives are being considered.

The Institute itself was set up by Father Andeweg, a Dutch Anglican priest and a man of evident charisma, drive and commitment and that same commitment is clearly evidenced amongst the staff of the school and amongst a group of international supporters determined to help the school to move forward confidently.

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