November 6, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 19Oakland, CA

Christians, Muslims unite to rebuild Lebanon

By Michael Hirst
Catholic News Service

HOULA, Lebanon (CNS) -- Lebanon’s new school term finally got under way in mid-October, but in southern areas of the country ravaged by the Hezbollah militia’s 34-day conflict with Israel, many destroyed classrooms remained empty.

UNICEF reports that 16 public schools were completely destroyed by Israeli strikes during the war; 250 schools were severely damaged, and a further 800 were left in need of repair. But political wrangling over the spending of some $900 million in international aid donations has delayed the allocation of funds, meaning reconstruction work has been slow, leaving many damaged schools unusable.

One exception is the primary school in the southern border village of Houla where, since the war ended, more than 50 Christian and Muslim volunteers have been working to repair shelled walls, replace ruined roof tiles and install new windows in place of those shattered during the conflict.

These young volunteers came not at the behest of the Lebanese government or the local authorities, but were instead representatives of a small, nondenominational charity called Offre Joie (Offer Joy).

The school in Houla, perched on a hilltop just a few miles from the Israeli border, is one of three in southern Lebanon where some 150 Offre Joie volunteers have worked since mid-August.

A painting by volunteers of Offre Joie, a small nondenominational charity, shows the Lebanese flag, with Offre Joie’s symbol of the white dove carrying the traditional Lebanese emblem of a cedar tree. The painting, on the wall of a primary school playground in the village of Houla, Lebanon, symbolizes unity between Muslims and Christians.
CNS PHOTO/MIKE HIRST

On Oct. 14, local villagers joined Offre Joie volunteers in the project’s final stages, sweeping dusty corridors, painting repaired walls and cleaning new windows in preparation for the first day of school. Since Oct. 16, morning and evening classes have served about 200 students from the
surrounding area.

Based on the three principles of love, forgiveness and respect, Offre Joie is made up largely of university students ages 20-30, and it takes a hands-on approach to its aid work.
“We don’t pay for other people to do the work,” said Mark Torbey, 19, a student volunteer from Jesuit-run St. Joseph University in Beirut. “We teach our volunteers how to mix cement, build walls and fit electrical circuits, so that they can repair the schools themselves. This way we can feel that we are rebuilding our own country.”

Dressed in a white T-shirt, dusty work boots and a blue smock emblazoned with Offre Joie’s symbol -- a white dove -- Torbey smiled as he reflected on his work.

“For so many people in Lebanon, there are divides between North and South, between Christian, Sunni, Shiite and Druze,” said Torbey. “Our aim is to reunite the Lebanese family. Ours is an NGO (nongovernmental organization) that accepts volunteers whatever their religion and helps the needy whatever their religion.”

Paintings by the volunteers on the school’s walls depict communities living together, mosques alongside churches. The three schools rebuilt this summer were chosen not because of the religious affiliation of the villages in which they lie, but because of their location in the wider area -- each teaches the largest number of students from surrounding villages.

In a country for so long split by sectarian divisions, the attitude of unity in diversity means Offre Joie avoids confrontation with various religious groups. Houla, for example, is in an area controlled by Hezbollah, but the militant Shiite organization leaves the group to its own devices.

“Hezbollah know exactly what we’re doing, but they leave us alone because we are working for regeneration in southern Lebanon,” Torbey said.

Offre Joie is funded largely by overseas donations and runs on a budget of less than $100,000 a year. Although it has strong Catholic links -- approximately half its volunteers attend St. Joseph University -- Offre Joie prides itself on its apolitical, nonconfessional approach.

“We welcome the diversity,” said its founder, Melhem Khalaf, a 43-year-old French lawyer. “Through our core tenet of respect for each other, we don’t eat meat on a Friday in line with Christian beliefs. Nor do we eat pork out of respect for Muslims.

“By working together we work as a team, giving the volunteers a stronger sense of citizenship and ownership over the future of Lebanon,” he said.

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