Offre Joie brings Christians, Muslims together to rebuild Lebanon

Published: 2006-10-24

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 or local governments, but were instead representatives of a small, nondenominational charity called Offre Joie (Offer Joy).

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