On 4th August, Lebanon was brought to its knees by an enormous explosion in the capital, Beirut. 220 people have died, 6,000 are injured and 300,000 people have been left homeless. Tens of thousands of children are suffering from trauma and displacement.
This is on top of a political and economic crisis that has plunged the country into hyperinflation and pushed 60% of the population into poverty (more than double the poverty level a decade ago), and Covid-19 lockdowns that have forced school closures since February.
Seenaryo works in Lebanon and Jordan. In both countries, mental wellbeing has plummeted as poor communities are confined to tents or cramped housing without work or education.
Rightly, the first response since the Beirut explosion focuses on food, shelter and medical help; we encourage you to support one of these disaster relief initiatives. But safe spaces are needed that allow people to process their experiences and rebuild wellbeing and dignity. And we cannot forget the long-term need for innovative and holistic initiatives that allow children to stay engaged with learning and communities to come together.
“Nothing except theatre allows me to make my voice heard”
– Theatre participant
Since the start of 2020, we’ve had to pivot every couple of months, transforming our programmes to fit the changing reality. As a small, agile organisation this has been easier for us to achieve than most.
In a matter of weeks after lockdown began, we responded to the needs of the poorest refugee and local communities by:
- Developing I Learn From Home, a remote learning programme delivering play-based educational materials direct to parents and children in over 2,500 families.
- Launching the Seenaryo Playkit phone app, which gives teachers of 3 to 8 year olds access to hundreds of play-based classroom activities in the palm of their hand.
- Delivering Zoom Theatre workshops online for hundreds of participants, performing once lockdown lifted.
- Creating Little Bird: a lockdown music video, working with 100 children, youth and women to produce an original song and video, written by participants.
In response to the explosion we are:
- Organising theatre micro-projects led by our trainees, giving affected children the space to process and to dream.
“I taught early childhood education for eight years before becoming an officer, and I have never seen anything quite like the Seenaryo Playkit training”
– Senior Education Officer (IRC)
“I feel that I have a purpose now – I am not only serving my family and my children, but also doing something for myself.”
– Seenaryo Theatre participant
Five summers ago, our founders Victoria and Oscar headed to Lebanon’s Shatila refugee camp to make theatre with a group of children. The participants developed stories about dinosaurs, drought and an astronomer’s daughter… and Seenaryo came to life.
“I’ve become more self-confident and can now face any problem. When I stepped onstage I realised how powerful theatre is as a tool to express everything inside us.”
– Seenaryo Theatre participant
Five years on, Seenaryo has reached over 60,000 people from 3 to 70 years old. Through theatre and play, we support marginalised people to be powerful agents of their own lives and positive contributors to their societies.
Since 2015, our team of over 60 local facilitators and trainers have created 50 original theatre productions with children, youth and women, trained over 1,300 teachers from more than 100 schools to transform their teaching through play… and launched a teacher training app, the Seenaryo Playkit.
We are now facing – like so many other charities – extraordinary financial and logistical challenges to keep doing our vital work with communities who are facing more poverty and isolation every day.
We need your support to keep initiating groundbreaking participatory education and community development programmes, using the arts to develop skills and bring hope in the darkest of times.
“Theatre is probably the most important thing that has happened in my life in the past two years. Theatre puts my life in order, it organises my time and my thoughts. Theatre helps me to build confidence and skills for my working life.”
– Seenaryo Theatre participant
For more about Seenaryo’s theatre, choir and play-based teacher training programmes in Lebanon and Jordan, please visit www.seenaryo.org as well as www.seenaryoplaykit.org or check out our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Donate online: Give anything from $5 to $5,000 online through this website. Every dollar and pound makes a huge difference so please do give, whatever the level.
Donate by cash or cheque: In case you prefer not to donate online, you can give by cash or cheque by emailing [email protected] or calling/messaging us on the following numbers:
- Whatsapp (from any country): +44 7733 322827
- Lebanon: +961 78 967028 (Lebanese lira or donations from Lebanese bank accounts are welcome)
- Jordan: +962 798 456 045
- UK: +44 7823 554212
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