Al Markaziya – The Prime Minister’s wife, May Najib Mikati, sponsored the launch of the “National Authority for Supporting Mental Health in Schools” campaign of Alma Al-Shaab public intermediate school in Tire district.
The ceremony was attended by the Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO, Hiba Nashabeh, the head of the southern education area, Ahmed Saleh, the two officials of the civil affairs department of the UNIFIL forces, Al-Baqir Adam and Sultan Suleiman , the commander of the Ghanaian battalion in UNIFIL, and the head of the municipality of Alma Al-Shaab, Jean Ghafri, as well as the mayor of the city, the fathers, nuns and the president of the “Alfa” association Marie Claude Said. .
The ceremony was opened with the national anthem sung by the students and teachers of the school, after which the principal of the school, Hanan Sayyah, welcomed the audience and explained the suffering of this official educational building, which begins with the cracking of the building.
He said: “The school administration has repeatedly asked the Ministry of Education to take up the matter, but it has not been listened to and parts of the school are about to fall on the heads of its students and teachers, as happened in one of the schools in the city of Tripoli”.
He added, “He looks forward to Ms. Mikati’s visit with great hope in terms of drawing the attention of officials to the reality of Alma Al-Shaab school and schools in nearby villages.”
After that, Saleh spoke, praising Ms. Mikati’s presence at the head of ‘National Authority for Mental Health Support’, which is watching over and supporting this project with the slogan ‘Hand in Hand in Support of Today’s Children, Tomorrow’s Leaders’.
He appreciated “Ms. Mikati’s step in her visit to this school in the South.”
On behalf of the Municipal Council, Ghafry welcomed Ms Mikati and her accompanying delegation, saying, “This region remains eager to see officials and take care of them.” He put the skills of the municipality at the disposal of this project to remove frustration and depression from children and guarantee them an education in the best and most adequate conditions.
Mikati: In his speech, Mikati said, “At a time when everything around us is dark and sad, we wanted to look from the south today with an educational gesture of hope through the ‘National Authority for Mental Health in Schools’ , which was established by decision of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers because we believe in the importance of mental health for our children and for our society, in light of the difficult circumstances Lebanon is going through.
Mikati expressed his happiness for his presence in the Alma al-Shaab middle school and in the “south dear to all our hearts, to be able to launch the first of our works together”.
He said, “The National Mental Health Authority” will spread national awareness by all means available, and will also take initiatives with civil societies, international, regional and local organizations, public and private sectors and municipalities to help schools, teachers, and parents overcome the trials they are going through and overcome their difficult circumstances.
And he indicated that since the beginning of the campaign “our decision has been to start work in small schools and in areas that do not reach the supplies of international associations, to help as much as possible to bring joy to the hearts of our children and spread awareness about this issue and draw everyone’s attention to the urgent need to work for the well-being of our children in these areas.”
And he added: “The National Commission on Mental Health was able, through the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO, to obtain the commitment of the regional office of the International Organization of UNESCO to train teachers of folk knowledge and help its students to obtain means which can improve their conditions”.
The celebration concluded with an art show presented by the soldiers of the Ghanaian battalion in UNIFIL, with the participation of the school students, after which Ms. Mikati presented the battalion commander with a symbolic shield to thank his battalion and appreciate the role by UNIFIL.
