BASSMA, a non-profit association for Social Development, founded in 2002 by a group of dynamic volunteers. They had two things in common: their love for their country and their desire to change the very unstable socioeconomic situation of the most deprived. They decided to fight poverty and work for a better society by creating a humanitarian organization that rallies citizens for the social Lebanese cause. BASSMA was officially born.
In the beginning, the organization's activities were mostly aimed at providing food to the most underprivileged families. Then, it further expanded its impact and started working for social rehabilitation.
In fact, the volunteers quickly realized that food aid only was not enough. Therefore, on top of providing a monthly "Paquet Sourire" or Smiles Pack worth LBP 75,000 in essential food and sanitary items, BASSMA extended its field of action and included more services such as education support (payment of school and books fees), medical assistance, clothes donations, rental fees, etc. Families were recruited based on their financial needs, without any political or religious discrimination.
BASSMA also organized awareness activities on a regular basis and conducted awareness campaigns showing the importance of the Lebanese citizen's engagement in enhancing the Lebanese socioeconomic situation.A few years later, BASSMA's actions evolved and included employment services to help underprivileged Lebanese gain their financial autonomy and build a sustainable family equilibrium. On the other side, BASSMA launched its poverty-awareness program, KIDSWAP in many private schools.
Also, BASSMA understood that beyond the lack of income, poverty is often associated with a lack of choice. Believing that empowerment and confidence in the future are the keys to success, BASSMA started focusing on providing a moral and psychological follow-up.
Nowadays, BASSMA works closely with families to implement a 3 to 5 year personalized rehabilitation program, focusing on education and employment, to help them gain their financial independence. Through this tailored program, BASSMA supports families by providing them with basics needs such as food, medication, clothes and social assistance, thus creating a real difference in their lives.
BASSMA survived mass demonstrations that occurred in 2005 following the assassination of the Lebanese Prime Minister, a war in 2006 and a civil war in 2007, as well as many assassinations of political figures through bomb explosions in the streets of Beirut. Through it all, the association has never stopped assisting the ones who needed it the most. But the sad consequence was that, unfortunately, most of BASSMA's volunteers emigrated, fleeing away from all this political turmoil.
Today, BASSMA has evolved into a comprehensive organization that directly supports more than 15,00000 people in the Greater Beirut area, each year.
