Early Marriage

SB Overseas, in terms of its policy as a non-governmental organization working in the humanitarian field with refugees and vulnerable groups, flatly rejects early marriage.

SB applies this policy by:

1. Participating in conferences to protect youths from early marriage https://www.sboverseas.org/2018/06/22/child-marriage-in-the-refugee-community-a-desperate-response-born-out-of-desperate-circumstances/
2. Carry out social and cultural awareness sessions for girls and parents to talk about early marriage and its harmful effects
3. – Training girls on life issues that divert their attention from marriage to other things that are more effective and appropriate for their age.
4. Spread out awareness about the issue of early marriage on social media platforms through artistic and literary works or videos with the aim of communicating it to all groups of society.

One of the most prominent artistic and literary works was the producing of the book “Just Married” by “Felix Braiseir”, who is a French director and artist who volunteered with SB in 2017 as a teacher, and during that period this book was produced. The book contains stories of women and girls who married early marriage to describe their suffering in this matter.

This book was published after the approval of the owners of the stories, but under fictitious names to preserve the confidentiality and privacy of the owners of the stories.

The link of the stories:

1. https://www.sboverseas.org/category/press-releases/advocacy/child-marriage-comics/
2. https://www.sboverseas.org/category/lebanon/child-marriage-comics-en/

Migration

In light of the European Union’s announcement of the asylum policy aimed at protecting refugees and taking into account non-refoulement, SB supports young refugees and women to Europe, specifically in Brussels, on several levels:

1. The “SB Espoir”, which provides psychosocial support activities and life skills to support them in their new life in Brussels https://www.sboverseas.org/2019/12/18/the-story-of-sb-in-brussels/
2. Through its centers in Lebanon that provide educational and psychosocial support to refugees whose conditions prevent them from going to school, as well as through the empowerment program that supports women and youth to prepare them to face life challenges in countries of asylum
3. Participation in conferences in support of refugees, and the association participated in many conferences, the most recent was: Discussion on the EU migration policy, https://www.sboverseas.org/2018/03/24/sb-overseas-attends-a-discussion-on-migration-policy/

And training for refugee workers on resilience “a way to build resilience for refugees and for working with them” https://www.sboverseas.org/2019/10/05/professional-training-a-way-to-build-resilience-for-refugees-and-for-those-working-with-them/

Among the support activities also, SB launched the online Refugee Journal through its website and social media to support the refugees and convey the true image of their conditions. This journal includes posts from refugees themselves from drawings and writings expressing their condition and conveying their feelings https://www.sboverseas.org/category/refugee-journal/

Finally, they did not choose to be refugees, but the curse of war forced them to emigrate, so our support for people for humanity is our first goal.