NEF 2004 Annual Report - Near East Foundation

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The Near East Foundation’s long-term
involvement in landmine issues and work
with disabled victims in Southern Lebanon
took a new turn over the past year—loans for
the handicapped--and their families and
caretakers. Amounts ranged from $200 to a
maximum of $1,000, to be repaid in equal
monthly installments over two years.
Frequently they were used for the purchase
of prosthetics devices needed to either start
and operate small businesses or find
employment with existing enterprises. So far
45 courageous individuals have taken on the
dual challenges of their disability and selfemployment.
Like Abo Khalid, a blind man who used his $700 loan to furnish his small kiosk with goods—tea,
newspapers, cigarettes, children’s candies. His average monthly income of $300 helps feed his
children. For his part, Ali may be wheelchair-bound, but thanks to available credit that hasn’t
stopped him from establishing a small maintenance service center for computers and electronic
equipment—and a reputation for high quality work. Both have been freed from previous
dependency on others and regained control over their lives. Both prove the ability of persons
with disabilities to be fully productive members of society.
NEF facilitates this access to credit through its partner for many years, the Philanthropic
Association for Disabled Care in Nabatiyah, which we provided with new loan capital in 2003-04.
The association was established in 1985 to help the handicapped in the area with a variety of
services--from needs assessment and artificial limbs on through counseling and both
rehabilitation and sports centers. NEF previously has supported their education and lending
activities as well as medical care and physical therapy programs, all of which continue in a classic
example of so-called “capacity building.”
The Philanthropic Association was one of the first community organizations to participate in the
Lebanese National De-mining Program in 1998, prior to the Israeli withdrawal from the South. It
is the only non-governmental organization working with the estimated 1,100 persons with
disabilities in Nabatiyah, in most cases the war injured and innocent bystanders caught in
conflicts or disabled by landmines. The association is one of five community-based credit
programs the Near East Foundation has funded in Lebanon.