AUB students build bridges, break cultural barriers through community engagement
Several departments at the American University of Beirut joined forces to conduct a summer camp for students so they could gain hands-on civil engineering experience while doing community service. The camp, which started last week, runs until August 30.
About 60 students are currently volunteering in many villages in South Lebanon (Sour, Bint-Jbeil, and Nabatiyye regions). They have been working on various projects in Landscape Design, Architecture/Urban Design, IT/Computer Education, and Civil/Construction Engineering, and participating in social/cultural activities.
"The feedback from both students and the communities has been extremely positive," said Professor Mounir Mabsout, the coordinator of the program, and the director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service at AUB, one of the sponsors of the program. "We are really pleased with the enthusiasm for community engagement which students have been showing."
The summer camp program started in 2006, just before the outbreak of the July War between Israel and Lebanon, and initially targeted only civil engineering students. This year's participation rate increased four-fold, and the camp attracted students from all departments within the Faculty of Engineering.
The camp is funded and hosted by various AUB departments and centers, including the Center for Civic Engagement and Community Service, Task Force for Reconstruction & Community Service, the Faculty of Engineering & Architecture (FEA), Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Department Electrical & Computer Engineering, as well as other FEA departments. Also, joining AUB were two NGOs – Beit bil Jnoub and UN-Habitat—in addition to a number of municipalities from participating villages.
"Students are applying on the ground what they have been learning in the classroom," said Khaled Joujou, a lab manager at the department of environmental and civil engineering, and a supervisor at the camp. "They also learn how to deal with different cultures and societies. In return, communities have been really appreciating the fact that AUB students are taking 10 days off to spend time with them. The end result is a lot of cultural exchange and discovering a common ground that brings people together despite their differences."
In order to encourage this cultural exchange, the camp partnered with villagers to offer meals to students. "With the camp's support, the families would cook meals for the students at their homes, which encourages a two-way interaction between the students and the local families," said Joujou.
The camp has been so successful that villagers signed up for activities in larger numbers than expected. "For instance, we were expecting 15 students to sign up for a computer skills training workshop in one of the villages, but 120 showed up and still counting!!" said Joujou.
In addition to the engineering services, AUB students are also volunteering in social and environmental activities, conducting clean-ups, planting trees, and challenging village kids to a hearty game of volley-ball or football.
On Thursday and Friday, camp participants will carry out more on-the-ground work at the villages, and on Saturday morning, they will distribute certificates to village students who participated in workshops, wrapping up their 10-day experience.
