Women Empowerment
An Empowered Woman ; A Stronger Community
A key part of Ajialouna’s mission is to support and empower women in the local community. Launched in 2010 Ajialouna’s Women Empowerment Program is a career-oriented and support program providing job opportunities, mentorship advice, and skills development workshops across a range of interests to provide a path towards economic independence.
Micro Enterprise Support for Women Initiative
In response to the Lebanese economic crisis, a Micro-Enterprise Support initiative was implemented by Ajialouna to allow women the opportunity to run and operate income-generating activities.
To date, 12 women who are the heads of their households have been supported with equipment for micro-enterprises activities including sewing, essential kitchen appliances for food delivery, cosmetology equipment and tools and other equipment to aid women to operate and generate income.
Ajialouna is actively working on expanding this initiative and is actively seeking strategic partners to create and implement an expanded program to grow and provide additional opportunities for women.
Workshops & Training
Our workshops allow women between the ages of 18 and 50 an opportunity to receive training and acquire skills in an area of interest to support their quest in securing job opportunities, contributing to their household income and gaining a sense of personal freedom and financial independence.
Workshops include:
- Cooking
- Cosmetology
- Computer skills
- Elderly Caretaker
- Nurse Assistant
Profits from our women empowerment department and related activities go towards supporting widows and to our medical and healthcare services.
Mashghal (The Atelier & Artwork)
Launched in Beirut (2005) and in Tripoli (2009), the aim of the atelier is to promote the empowerment of women and strengthen their role in the community. This provides a creative outlet for women to share their artistry and be an actively contributing earner.
The items are known for their exquisite designs and attention to detail and have become well known staples in the gift giving and retail community in Beirut and Tripoli. The products can be found on instagram, Ajialouna’s premises, and its retail shop in ABC Verdun in Beirut. Ajialouna’s Atelier and Artwork are also showcased at annual exhibitions and fairs in the GCC and in the UK (with the ‘Give a Child a Toy’ organization).
- Towels
- Tablecloths
- Tray mats
- Prayer clothes
- Kaftans
- Baby clothing and accessories
- Various gift items
For orders from the Ajialouna Mashghal Shop, checkout our instagram page or order on Whatsapp at +961 76 678 279. We Deliver!
For international orders, please checkout our newly launched website at http://www.hyaconceptstore.com
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Coeur de Miel Kitchen & Catering
As part of Ajialouna’s women empowerment efforts, Ajialouna launched its women-led catering kitchen in 2008, ‘Coeur De Miel’ based out of Ajialouna Organization’s Building Headquarters in Beirut.
The Coeur de Miel Kitchen is run by 18 widows and women from low-income families and is supervised by a head chef.
The women receive training and attend workshops related to food safety and receive opportunities to complete training offered within the overall women empowerment program at Ajialouna.
The Coeur de Miel Kitchen abides by and implements quality manufacturing standards and handles catering requests six days a week. Our dynamic production area at the Ajialouna premises offers daily meals and catered menus of delicious and traditional Lebanese dishes, international cuisine and a mouth-watering selection of dessert to be enjoyed on any occasion.
For Coeur de Miel Kitchen catering events, the kitchen also provides necessary supplies including utensils, serving equipment, tables, chairs, tablecloths and waiters/servers.
Coeur de Miel Frozen items can be found at select retail supermarkets including Marqet and Urban Market in Beirut.
Find us on Toters!
In 2021, Ajialona’s Coeur de Miel Kitchen can be found on the Toters Delivery App in Lebanon.
For orders, catering and events, kindly contact us on +961 1 30 44 72 / +961 3 34 67 44 or at kitchen@ajialouna.org
Elderly Caregiver Project- Kudurat
In March and April 2021, prior to the start of the project, the caregivers received essential soft and hard skills trainings covering diverse topics: personal hygiene, Covid-19 awareness, communication, stress management, domestic violence, early child marriage, first aid, women’s rights and sexual harassment, and Covid-19 vaccine awareness. As the project progressed, we held monthly debrief meetings with a short talk/workshop in order to enhance their skills. One significant skill that we also worked on is their technical skills through teaching them how to use google forms for attendance purposes.
Currently, the project matched 18 women with 18 elders in diverse regions in Tripoli. We previously had 20 elders but particular circumstances we had to adjust the structure to suit some nurses/elders. Unfortunately, one of the elderlies died last week and therefore his nurse had been discontinued until we find another suitable elder.
Project managers visit all houses on a weekly basis and in most cases twice a week. During this time, selected volunteers join the visits so that they can learn how the process is done. For the time being, the assistant nurses are divided amongst all of the project managers, and each will be responsible to make sure that she has attended to her duties and did not miss a day. The
contract drafted includes a clause which restricts the assistant nurse from missing a day unless a valid reason/excuse is given. On such days, the needs of the elderly will be attended by the project managers/volunteers.
If the project managers perceive the need to increase the number of visits, we will; but if one visit is sufficient every one to two weeks then we will proceed as follows.
Previous Programs
Skills Development Workshops for Women
In 2011, Ajialouna launched the “Skills Development Workshops for Women” with funding by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). The program provided the opportunity for 60 low-income Lebanese women to receive training to gain employability and entrepreneurship to aid in securing jobs within the Lebanese market and to elevate their role within the community.
Workshops and training courses under the program included small business management and finance, makeup and beauty, computer skills and culinary courses.
In May 2011, the first group of women comprising 32 women successfully completed their training and received their completion certificates from Mrs. Anabella Bohsali, MEPI Program Manager at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and Dr. Lina Zaim Dada, Ajialouna’s President at an Ajialouna organized graduation ceremony in Beirut.