Back in September, as the war disrupted classes and confined students to their homes and dormitories, Elise Moussa, Mayssa Merie, Farah Ktaish, Farah Nassar and Tala Hareb—all USAID-Higher Education Scholarship Program (USP) scholars—chose to channel their feelings of helplessness into action.

Despite the escalation in their hometowns in the south, this group of like-minded altruistic LAU students came together to help alleviate the hardships of hundreds of displaced individuals in Beirut. Pooling their limited resources, they began distributing water bottles and cakes to families sheltering in the Manara area of Beirut.

Encouraged by the gratitude they received, they formalized their efforts and founded Youth for Lebanon, a humble initiative aimed at providing essential food, water and hygiene products to those in need.

“We organized ourselves into functional teams: tech, media, design, finance, outreach, management and logistics,” explained Moussa, a third-year marketing student at the Adnan Kassar School of Business and one of the five co-founders of the initiative responsible for its media communications.

To ensure transparency, the group created public spreadsheets to track every cent donated, detailing the types and quantities of items purchased and their recipients. “We maintain a well-organized system of collaboration, meeting three to four times a week—both online and in-person—to divide tasks, set priorities and monitor progress,” explained Nassar, a third-year marketing student responsible for the project’s logistics.

In just three months, the group exemplified the power of collective effort by raising over $2,000, enabling the distribution of more than 120 meal boxes, feeding approximately 1,200 individuals, and delivering over 100 hygiene kits.

“The drive to make a difference—even in the smallest way—became our guiding force,” said Merie, a third-year psychology student, who connects with families in need, understanding their specific requirements while coordinating with her team members to ensure they receive the necessary items.

Additionally, the group drew on their diverse educational backgrounds and the experience gained through the Community Service & Engagement (CSE) program at LAU, which equips students, including USAID scholarship recipients, with the tools, opportunities and guidance needed to excel academically and become active, compassionate and socially responsible leaders within their communities and beyond.

“Since our first year at LAU, the CSE program has encouraged us to engage in social responsibility and volunteering,” Kteish, a third-year banking and finance student who took care of the project’s finances, shared. She added that “having volunteered for over two years, co-founding Youth for Lebanon became much easier as I was already used to this type of work.” She also noted that the program had supported their efforts by featuring their initiative in its magazine, helping to raise awareness and broaden their outreach.

When it came to balancing the project’s growing demands and their academic responsibilities, the group decided to have joint study sessions, a shared space that allowed them to emotionally process the ongoing crisis while staying focused on their studies.

“We used to have study nights, half of which were spent studying and the other half discussing Youth for Lebanon,” said Hareb, a third-year computer science student who was responsible for setting up the project’s website. In addition to her tasks, she also shared duties with other members, including packing and delivering donation boxes.

Now, as the situation has shifted with people returning to their homes, the team has quickly embarked on a new mission: clearing up the spaces that had served as shelters.

Applications to the USAID-Higher Education Scholarships will be open until March 3, 2025.