Rescue Me and Global Steps fighting Extremism through arts and social support

January 24, 2018

Global Steps Association partnered with Rescue Me Association strategically and on the implementation level through exchanging expertise as Planning, Project development, Fundraising, Raining and Curriculum Development, CVE consultations, Research and M&E, reporting and networking.

Rescue Me as a specialized NGO located in Beirut, Lebanon with a vision of a society embraced with safer homes, schools and communities, and with a mission to undertake crime prevention, CVE through social development for a better advanced connected community and improving quality of life for all, by providing specialized interventions and programs in schools, prisons and community centers.

These programs include but not limited to a series of activities to youth at risk and their families who suffer from war consequences, especially post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as refugees through Art Therapy sessions, sewing and doll making training, glass painting and mosaic, theatre and basic educational sessions supported by psycho-social follow up.

Finding alternatives

Also, the interventions include training on violence prevention, aggression replacement, development of critical thinking, leadership and social media, in addition to economic support projects using accelerated vocational training and social and financial education programs to give youth at risk and their families different alternatives to survive, and not join any radicalized groups. Rescue Me belief resides in Being aware of risk factors at early stages can significantly reduce levels of crime and violence later in life

Rescue Me with its partner NGO Global Steps had previously worked on projects which were its main objectives, to offer psycho-social support interventions targeting War Trauma victims.

Some of these successfully implemented projects were mainly funded by USAID through OTI Lebanon Community Resilience Initiative (LCRI).

“Conflict Sensitivity”

The 1st project was conducted over 5.5 months targeted 320 children and 180 Parents, as a School-based program, Conflict Resolution and Crime violence prevention in the community, based on “Conflict Sensitivity” approaches that indicates risk factors of Lebanese and Syrian refugee students at early stages in schools, which can significantly reduce levels of crime, conflict and violence later in society.

“Messengers of Peace”

The 2nd project “Messengers of Peace” was conducted through a 4-month in-kind grant, targeted 40 vulnerable youth in Beirut – Tarik El Jdide (Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians).

The two NGOs experts collaborated to help these youth to develop a critical thinking, through a series of training sessions, and to encourage them to adopt peaceful approaches of expression through graffiti arts.

The youth were recruited according to a set of criteria, from the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Beirut such as Ard Jaloul, Horsh, Shatila and Sehet Abou Chacker, where radicalization and violence have been on the rise. Participants have been engaged in a program developed by Global Steps and Rescue Me, based on their previous experience with vulnerable and violent youth. Youth have been exposed to the ways through which online communication was used to serve and advance specific goals.

Youth at risk

The 3rd project was implemented over 6 months targeting 40 youth at risk of violent extremism “Engaging Tarik Jdideh Youth in Skills Training and Neighborhood Revitalization”. It was built on the success of the second project, and as replication of most of the activities that have been conducted before, in addition to the economic support component, through vocational training skills and rehabilitation of more than 20 houses of the youth at risk.