SB OverSeas chosen as Charity of the Year

Now I want to help myself… our parents didn’t try to educate us.

Now I can provide myself to learn and be able to support myself and be independent.

I wanted to be educated, now I’m happy with myself.

It makes me feel alive.

SB Overseas was recently awarded as Charity of the Year by Linda McAvan, UK Labour MEP and Chair of the European Parliament’s Development Committee. Our chairperson, Louma Albik was invited to the UK to present the work that SB OverSeas does in Lebanon and Brussels with a special focus on the work we do for women given it was International Women’s Day.

The annual fundraising dinner, now in its thirteenth year, was held in the Cedar Court Hotel in Wakefield. The event brought together over 250 women including Dame Glenis Willmott, former Labour Leader in Europe and Labour MPs Rachel Reeves, Mary Creagh, Gill Furniss, Holly Lynch and Melanie Onn.

Louma Albik gave an overview of SB OverSeas and its work in both Lebanon and Belgium. She recounted the story of Amena, a 55 year old Syrian woman who attends SB OverSeas centres in order to learn new skills and also in order to pass on the skills to her six adopted children. She emphasised that education is the key and acknowledged the women’s efforts for change in the room by stating “each one of us here is a candle in the darkness for many women and young girls, and i am sure that every candle can enflame another and together we can give light to the whole world”.

Thank you very much to Linda McAvan for choosing SB OverSeas. Opportunities like these allow us to continue our work on the ground and further our mission to help women and girl refugees become empowered.