Community Support Program in Lebanon aaaa November 2020
CSP Turns 2!
The end of September marked the second anniversary of USAID's Lebanon Community Support Program. While the past year was one of the most challenging periods for Lebanon in decades, we at CSP worked to help underserved communities rise to meet the challenges they are facing. Since October 2019, we have expanded from community support and development assistance to other components — including workforce development, wastewater management, and complementary technical assistance to enhance and sustain the assistance provided across all CSP teams. I’m proud to report that through CSP, USAID achieved the following results during the past two years:
The rest of this newsletter provides details about our most recent assistance to vulnerable Lebanese communities. On behalf of the team, we look forward to continuing to provide support to residents — especially those living in the North, South, and Beqaa Valley — in the years to come.
— Rhett Gurian, Chief of Party, USAID Community Support Program
Activity Spotlight
In October 2019, wildfires devastated the Lebanese villages of Damour, Kfar Matta, and Mechref, burning as much as 60 percent of their land. Ahead of the 2020 wildfire season, CSP supported the communities in carrying out a series of short-term projects to reduce their local fire risk. Working with local partner the Lebanese Reforestation Initiative, CSP is paying more than 150 temporary workers from the areas to clean up some 54 hectares of land, prune and trim foliage along roadsides and public land, pick up recyclables, and recycle and otherwise dispose of larger materials. This is the third activity CSP has carried out in response to the fires. CSP previously repaired water and electrical lines in Damour that had been badly burned in the fires and also helped to re-equip the center of the local NGO Arc en Ciel so that it could continue serving local residents. Watch the following video to see more about CSP's most recent activity to improve public safety in the area, while also providing workers and their families with an opportunity to generate income amid Lebanon's economic crisis.

Field Highlights
Works in Progress!
With winter on its way, the rainy season is picking up again in Lebanon, bringing with it many challenges for residents who do not have adequate access to basic infrastructure. To help these communities cope, CSP is carrying out a suite of activities aimed at addressing basic infrastructure needs. These include building a retaining wall in the northern village of Markebta (pictured above) to prevent property damage resulting from landslides caused by heavy rainfall, installing new piping to ensure proper irrigation for farmers in Kfar Hilda, and equipping the El Qaa Municipality in the Beqaa for storm response.
Intern Spotlight
Meet CSP intern Ali Chouman, a quality control officer in Beirut! A recent graduate from the American University of Beirut with a degree in chemical engineering and a recipient of USAID's University Scholarship Program, Ali helped to ensure that workers on CSP's cleanup activity in Beirut followed safety standards and, when necessary, implemented corrective measures. "Working as a quality control officer with CSP has improved my leadership skills," Ali says. "I can now say that in case I have my own business in the future, it is important to have a quality control officer who follows up on all safety measures, the quality of the work, and the effectiveness of the workers. This is how we can reduce costs and avoid risks."
Fact of the Month
Thanks to scholarships from CSP's workforce development component, 25 students from ____________, a technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institute in South Lebanon, recently kicked off their final year of coursework in advanced electrical studies and accounting and IT. CSP expedited the scholarship awards for the students to enable them to complete their course of study amid Lebanon's deteriorating economic situation.
Meet the CSP Team:
Regional Program Manager Mona Moussa
Mona started working with CSP in late 2018 and has taken on new challenges ever since. Initially assigned as Regional Program Manager (RPM) for CSP's activities in South Lebanon, Mona agreed to serve as acting RPM for the Beqaa following the departure of one of her colleagues. After a few months, Mona agreed to lead the North team during the temporary absence of another colleague. Thanks in large part to Mona's versatile leadership, her teams contributed to the design of 50 activities during the past year. Mona's reliability, flexibility, and ability to apply lessons learned across regions earned her the title of CSP Employee of the Year under the community support component: “I have to admit that on a personal level, I am dealing with the fact that I am taking care of my two daughters alone because my husband and parents live abroad. But the support I continuously receive from my colleagues at CSP gave me the biggest motivation to implement my job to the best of my abilities. I also want to serve communities in need during this difficult period in Lebanon,” Mona says.
Photo: Mona is excited to use the massage voucher she won alongside the title of CSP Employee of the Year under the community support component!
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This newsletter is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content of this newsletter is the sole responsibility of the Community Support Program (CSP) in Lebanon and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.