Sr Marie: “We have seen plenty of improvement in these girls. They find meaning, and they can face the challenges life has for them.”
On International Women’s Day, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) spoke to Sister Marie Akl, a religious from the Congregation of the Good Shepherd, about her valuable work in the shelter for vulnerable young people in Nabaa, Lebanon, where children and adolescents manage to overcome their trauma through workshops, integral care and even personal defence classes.
Who is your work aimed at?
We help vulnerable young people, especially those who were born in poor families. These young girls are vulnerable due to their exposure to domestic violence, abuse, poverty, trafficking, and other forms of mistreatment. The problems they face lead to violence, which has a devastating effect on their mental and physical health. These girls have grown up in a very difficult environment. They need tools, and they need to develop healthy habits. Therefore, they need protection and psychological support. However, access to mental health services is very difficult. We offer them sessions on their rights, to show them that they are strong and complete. We also organise sessions for families, to support parents and help them to protect their children.
Why is this sort of work so important?
Our work is more than just important, it is crucial, because these girls come from very difficult environments, marked by extreme poverty and abuse at every level. They are often deprived both of education and of basic sustenance, though these are exactly the things that would help them escape their situation of poverty and become independent, fully developed and responsible women.
During their personal defense classes, they learn how to defend themselves from attack, while the dancing and painting classes help to develop self-esteem. And they do love to dance!
What would happen to these girls if they didn’t have this project?
Without support, they would be exposed to drugs, delinquency, prostitution or criminal gangs. They have suffered many traumas, they have anxiety, depression, attachment disorders, and they find it difficult to trust people. Their traumas run very deep, and have an impact on many things, such as learning. Giving them these opportunities is very important to help them become strong and stable women. They don’t have any stability at the moment. Most of them lack a safe and calm space in their lives, and it is essential that we provide them with it.
Lebanon is going through a terrible economic crisis, so how is it possible to fund the project?
Unfortunately, mental health services are very limited and expensive. The NGOs play a very important role in providing this type of support to the vulnerable population. We are talking about girls who face delinquency and crime every single day. This is why we help them, to reduce the risk of them being drawn into this as well. But there are very few people focusing on this. Naturally, it should be the government’s role to take care of these vulnerable girls, but unfortunately, many centres have closed down because of the economic crisis, while the actual number of vulnerable people has increased! This mission is very close to our hearts and to the heart of Jesus.
Having said that, none of this would have been possible without the support of Aid to the Church in Need, especially over the past two years. We know that the foundation made an exception to fund this project, and we are very grateful for it. We thank ACN for all the help it provides, especially in this part of the world.
Tell us a bit about your role as religious sisters and educators. Why is this so special?
Our role as therapists and as consecrated religious is to help these girls to take on responsibility for themselves, to show them that this is a safe space, where they can process their emotions. We cannot change their environment, but we can help them to increase their self-esteem and to break the cycle of trauma.
Ours is a holistic approach, based on listening, support, and accompaniment, but also on protection. At least these girls get to be in a safe environment for the afternoon. They can meet with psychologists, a speech therapist, a social worker, and they can also get help with their schoolwork. The spiritual director is also a great help for them. Our centre offers them a comfortable and trusting space, to help them express themselves freely and make the right decisions for their future. Our aim is to give them tools, enabling them to be examples of change for others in the future.
What differences do you find in the girls between their entering the project and finishing it? Do you notice an impact on them and their family?
We can’t ever speak of a complete success rate, but we always try make the situation better. We have seen plenty of improvement in these girls. They find meaning, and they can face the challenges life has for them. Some of them have managed to get their degrees and are currently doing very well in university. I work closely with them, and I can speak of the example of one girl who I accompanied for a whole year. She was 14 when I met her, she had suffered terrible abuse from her father, and she was not the only one in the family in that situation. For one year, I worked on her, and you wouldn’t believe how much changed in that time. She and her mother ran from home because the father wanted to kill the mother. In fact, the mother had changed her daughter’s name out of fear that the father would find them and harm them. This young girl wasn’t even able to look at herself in a mirror, and she never left the house. Nowadays, however, she can stand in front of a mirror, and she no longer lives in fear. She goes out, she has made friends… She feels secure. The support and the therapy we provide are really important, and we are delighted with the results we are seeing. This is a place of trust and warmth, where these girls really feel comfortable and secure.
In 2024, ACN supported 936 projects with women religious around the world, for a total of over €10.4 million. This support mostly took the form of construction projects (€3M), vehicles (€1.4M), religious formation (€2.9M) and subsistence aid (€2.5M). Emergency aid also went to schools run by women’s congregations in Lebanon, as well supporting female religious in very poor and neglected areas in Latin America.
