Shababouna Center
Shababouna Center was established in 2007 in the Old City of Tripoli, Lebanon with the goal of providing young communities with the inspiration and courage needed to build empowered lives. By focusing on the holistic nature of the individual, Safadi Foundation is reducing risks at both the micro and macro levels.
Safadi Foundation is working to educate, engage and enhance the ability of young people in Tripoli to play more of a role in determining their destiny. Tripoli is Lebanon’s second largest city and home to the country’s highest poverty and school drop out rates. With just over half the population under the age of twenty-five years old, youth are at a disadvantage when it comes to their socio-economic empowerment.
Shababouna Center is a safe space that is the main hub for all programs and activities, servicing nearly 850 beneficiaries on an annual basis. These services are free-of-charge, enabling equitable access for all of Tripoli’s youth.
Activities and services at the Center include:
- Accelerated vocational training in mobile phone repair, welding, management, sales and other fields
- Educational support for at risk children
- Psycho-social support
- Citizen awareness and empowerment
- Conflict resolution, peace-building, life skills, and culture
- Awareness classes in a variety of areas including health and environment, child protection, positive parenting, drug prevention
- Personal empowerment through expressive arts and entertainment
- Sports program and social awareness
In an area that is often plagued by extremism, violence and instability, the Youth Center provides a safe place for young people to gather and build cohesion among their peers. Far from the risks of these and other threats such as unemployment, delinquency and drugs, the Center offers a chance for youth to transform their challenges into something positive with the presence of social workers and animators who are on site to facilitate direct guidance and support.
