UNIFIL launches education support project in South Lebanon

The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Saturday inaugurated a project aimed at strengthening public education in five towns in the country’s southeast.

The initiative was launched in Ghandouriyeh by General Ricardo Esteban Cabrejos, commander of UNIFIL’s eastern sector, during a ceremony held at the town’s public school. The event was attended by Bint Jbeil district commissioner Charbel Al-Alam, local mayors, Indonesian battalion commander Raja Gunung Nasution, and community representatives.

The project includes delivering school supplies to enhance students’ welfare and academic development, as well as upgrading educational infrastructure to create a safer and more effective learning environment.

“This is an important day, not only because this project benefits five towns, but because its true heroes are the children — the future of Lebanon,” Cabrejos said. “UNIFIL’s mandate will end in 16 months, but we will continue implementing projects in the south until then. My hope is that Lebanon will flourish as it deserves, in peace and security.”

Nasution emphasized the peacekeepers’ commitment to supporting education rather than conflict. “Today we come to these schools not with weapons, but with books, supplies, and renewable energy, because we believe peace is built in classrooms,” he said.

The project directly benefits five public schools in Touline, Souaneh, Qabrikha, Ghandouriyeh, and Froun, improving learning conditions for students and enhancing teaching quality across the Indonesian battalion’s area of responsibility.