The "AVSI home", a three-story building that was designed free of charge by architect Mario Botta, opens its doors on Wednesday, July 5 and will be a reference point for more than 100,000 people, youth, women and children in the plain of Marjayoun.
The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place on Wednesday 5 July at 11 am and will be attended by Nicoletta Bombardiere, Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon, Giampaolo Silvestri, AVSI Secretary General, Charbel Abdallah, Archbishop of Tyr, Wissam Jamil El Hayek, Prefect of Marjayoun district, Marina Molino Lova, AVSI Lebanon Country Representative. Furthermore, Founding members, private donors and partners who have contributed to the project in the last few years will be present at the inauguration.
About the project
Fadaii has been built on a donated piece of land located in the village of Klayaa,, in the Marjayoun plain. It was designed in 2019 and the same year the construction site was opened. It was inspired by the willingness to give the community a physical place where they could “be together with AVSI” 365 days a year, beyond the duration of a specific project. The center aims to become a reference point for more than 100,000 people, responding to the concrete needs of the community. It will serve as a meeting space for young people, it will offer literacy courses and food processing courses for women, professional training for farmers, psycho-pedagogic services for children and their families (thanks to a team of professionals including psychologists, speech therapists, teachers and experts in psychomotricity). It will be an open and friendly space that can change and adapt to specific needs.
Fadaii means “my universe” in Arabic. That is, a space where each of us would like to be, a place where you can imagine to feel comfortable and at home. This often remains simply a wish. With this project, we wanted to make this dream come true.
Marco Perini, AVSI MENA Regional Manager
“The construction of Fadaii is a story of courage, resistance, determination. We had to face a global pandemic, an unprecedented economic crisis, the explosion in the port of Beirut. We had to slow down but we never stopped, we continued building and looking forward.” Marina Molino Lova, AVSI Country Representative in Lebanon, declares.