From Chicago to Beirut Lessons in Social Justice Teaching, Learning, and Doing through Health and Human Rights

The Lebanese Context Continued tension between Maronites and Muslims The National Pact (1943) Civil War (1975-1990) Removal of Syrian troops (2005) Current situation: Saudi Arabia and Iran

The Access to Health Model Interdisciplinary global community health project that brings law, public health, medical, and business faculty and graduate students together with communities, health advocates, government and university institutions, and human rights organizations in other countries Students participate through the Law School’s Health and Human Rights course

To Beirut In 2016-2017, in collaboration with an international NGO with a presence in Beirut, Lebanon, students and faculty from Northwestern Law School, Kellogg, and Medical School, focused on access to health in Syrian refugee populations in Lebanon. From Chicago The Northwestern Law School Access to Health Project is an interdisciplinary health and human rights project in which students and faculty from Northwestern Law School, the Kellogg School of Management, and Northwestern Medicine’s Center for Global Health work at the invitation of a local partner in the developing world to assess the public health needs of that community, and to design a sustainable, targeted intervention.

Safe Spaces Child Labor Mental Health For women and girls Physical health and response Of former adolescent combatants “A safe space is a formal or informal place where women and girls feel physically and emotionally safe[,]” such that women and girls “feel comfortable and enjoy the freedom to express themselves without fear of judgment or harm” (UNFPA 2015). Syrian youth over the age of 11 are engaged in some form of employment in the informal economy. Both mental health and the topic of adolescent combatants are stigmatized in Lebanon and Syria. Because of these stigmas, it is most effective to address the issues indirectly, through psychosocial interventions addressed to all at-risk/stressed youth.

Qualitative Assessment A group of students and professors traveled to Beirut to conduct a needs assessment. Importance of language and cultural competency Consultative process involving interviews and focus groups Report back to original organization about gaps and where best value added

Language and Cultural Competency Cannot truly engage without speaking the language, understanding the culture, and building trust.

Interviews Focus Groups Interviewed 10 domestic and international organizations (both governmental and non-governmental) Coordination remains insufficient across organizations and programmatic approaches Organizations are attempting income generating models, but many lack a more general strategic or long-term plan of engagement Need for better and stronger M&E programs Focus Groups Held 4 focus groups, met with a Syrian family living in a tented settlement, and with a Lebanese land owner Economic independence and ability to earn a livelihood necessary to accessing health Isolation (both geographic, cultural, and linguistic) pose barriers to accessing services

Sustainable Approach A sustainable approach requires: Ensuring compatibility with your partner organization Maintaining contact Ensuring gains to all involved

B&Z Ensuring Compatibility & Maintaining Contact Original Partner Both are necessary to sustainability of a project. What do we want to say about the original partner? Connected with Basmeh & Zeitooneh through our qualitative assessment. Maintained contact with B&Z through assigning independent study students to work with their revenue generating arm.

Participation in solving global crises Who Gains What? Learning by doing Students Participation in solving global crises Clinic (or Law Firm) Increased capacity Partner Org .Access to health Beneficiaries

Lessons Learned Small is good Adapt and be flexible