Most students go on vacation during their spring breaks, but the YES alumni in Lebanon spent this time giving back to their communities! After brainstorming several different project ideas; the alumni agreed that it would be best to focus their efforts on young orphans throughout the country.

On April 24th, in collaboration with students from his former high school Kfarhim Official Secondary School; alumnus Ashraf Ammar ‘07 organized a mini-grant/carnival project for the 50 orphans at Beit Al Yatim of Aley. The carnival took place at Ashraf’s alma mater, in the small village of Kfarhim located in the Shouf region of Lebanon. From toy donkey races to jump castles, the kids were given score cards to keep track of their progress throughout the day. Those kids with the highest scores won a variety of small prizes. The carnival games were followed by lunch, and then a traditional Lebanese dance performed by the local high school students. The fun-packed day was full of smiles and great times for the orphans and alumni alike.

Alumnus Bilal Hammoud ‘09 organized a second mini-grant project in his hometown of Manara on April 25th. With the assistance of more than 20 of his fellow alumni; Bilal put on a field day event for orphans in the West Bekaa region of Lebanon. The day was packed with sporting activities, music, competitions, and other forms of entertainment. More than 250 orphans from grades 1 – 6 participated in this event, and were given the

 chance to compete in potato sack races, jump rope contests, homerun derbies, football throws, and other small field day games. Alumni also hired a DJ to play music for the kids.

Our alumni grew attached to the kids, which made it difficult for them to leave. However, there was no doubt about the success of these events, and our alums look forward to meeting them again!