Al Markaziya – The wife of the Prime Minister, May Najib Mikati, sponsored the launch of the “National Authority for Supporting Mental Health in Schools” campaign from Alma Al-Shaab Intermediate Public School in Tire district.
The ceremony was attended by the Secretary-General of the National Commission for UNESCO, Hiba Nashabeh, the head of the educational area in the south, Ahmed Saleh, the two officials in the civil affairs department in 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, in addition to the town’s mayor, 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, following which the principal of the school, Hanan Sayyah, welcomed the audience and explained the suffering of this official educational edifice, which begins with the cracking of the building.
She said, “The school administration has repeatedly asked the Ministry of Education to deal with the matter, but it has not been heard, and some parts of the school are regarding to fall over the heads of its students and teachers, as happened in one of the schools in the city of Tripoli.”
She added, “She is looking forward with great hope to Mrs. Mikati’s visit in terms of drawing the attention of officials to the reality of Alma Al-Shaab School and the schools of neighboring villages.”
After that, Saleh spoke, praising the presence of Ms. Mikati at the head of the “National Authority for Mental Health Support”, which is watching over and supporting this project under the slogan “Hand in Hand in Support of Today’s Children, Tomorrow’s Leaders”.
He appreciated “Mrs. Mikati’s step in her visit to this school in the south.”
On behalf of the Municipal Council, Ghafry welcomed Mrs. Mikati and her accompanying delegation, saying: “This region remains eager to see officials and take care of them.” He put the municipality’s capabilities at the disposal of this project in order to remove frustration and depression from the children and to secure education for them in the best and appropriate conditions.
Mikati: In her speech, Mikati said: “At a time when everything around us is dark and sad, we wanted to look today from the south with an educational gesture of hope through the “National Authority for Mental Health in Schools”, which was established by a decision of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers because of our belief in the importance of mental health for our children and our society. In light of the difficult circumstances that Lebanon is going through.
Mikati expressed her happiness with her presence in the middle school of Alma al-Shaab and in “the south dear to all of our hearts, so that we can launch together the first of our work.”
She said, “The National Authority for Mental Health” will spread national awareness through all available means, and will also take initiatives with civil societies, international, regional and local organizations, the public and private sectors, and municipalities to help schools, teachers, and parents overcome the ordeals they are going through and overcome their difficult circumstances.
And she indicated that since the beginning of the campaign, “our decision was to launch 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 regarding this issue, and to draw everyone’s attention to the urgent need to work on the well-being of our children in these areas.”
And she added: “The National Commission for 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 the people’s knowledge and help its students to obtain means that may improve their conditions.”
The celebration concluded with an artistic show presented by the soldiers of the Ghanaian battalion in UNIFIL, with the participation of school students, following which Ms. Mikati presented the battalion commander with a symbolic shield to thank his battalion and appreciate the role of UNIFIL.
