IH Jounieh collect bottle tops and plant trees in Lebanon

In conjunction with the British Embassy Beirut, IH Jounieh are collecting the plastic tops from drinks bottles. This is in support of the local charity Arc de Ciel which raises funds to provide wheelchairs for disabled people throughout Lebanon. One chair requires 500,000 tops. Their target is 10,000 and they have so far reached 8,000 so it’s a good job it’s turning into a hot summer!

They are also collecting used paper (think of all those lesson plans!) for a charity which recycles the paper for cash and donates the money to pay for children from poor families to go to school. So far they have helped raise $800 (£485), which is enough to pay for 3 children to go to school for a whole year.

Jo Linthwaite, DOS of IH Jounieh says:

“So what do a bus load of people from ALLC-IH Jounieh do on a warm and sunny Saturday morning? We plant trees of course! Fifty students, staff and assorted children set off from the centre dressed ready for some hard physical work in jeans, boots and erm… high heels! We arrived in the mountains at the village of Ghbeleh ready to plant around 100 fruit and olive trees.

After a couple of hours, many photos and a few blisters we had planted four terraces and left to visit the Church of St Nicholas and share lunch.”

Last Christmas, the school also collected dry goods (rice and pasta), packet and tinned foods, plus Christmas treats to donate to poor families in the Jounieh area, in cooperation with local charities.