Embrace, an NGO that works to raise awareness around mental health in Lebanon and thrives to prevent suicides, just won the Wajih Ajouz Award for excellence in activism and advocacy.
The event was held by the Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom at the Samir Kassir Foundation.
The Wajih Ajouz Award (WWA) honors excellence in Lebanese online activism, while the Samir Kassir Foundation rewards outstanding individuals and organizations that make use of online activism in order to defend human rights and freedom of expression.
The winning campaign receives a prize of 2,000 USD.
Considering that the Lebanese system, most often than not, treats basic rights as luxurious privileges, the WAA aims to bring forward Lebanese individuals and organizations that make the best use of online means to fight for a better life, in Lebanon and everywhere else in the world.
The online campaign by Embrace that led them to win the Wajih Ajouz award sheds light on the difficulties of mental health issues during a nation-wide COVID-19 pandemic.
“2020 is almost over, but its effect on us and on our mental health might stay with us for years to come. The economic collapse, the coronavirus pandemic, and the Beirut explosion, which shook the world and broke our hearts, robbed us of our feelings of security and fueled our fears and loneliness,” Embrace wrote as part of the online campaign.
“Embrace is here, to hold everyone tight, no matter the circumstances, and at all times, through our hotline 1564 or our free mental health clinics,” they added.
In fact, Embrace has been actively present since the Beirut Blast, not only on their operating lines but in helping out on the grounds and morally supporting the victims, which include the people traumatized by the explosion; there where the government and its institutions failed to assume its duties.
Embrace’s team operates between 12:00 PM and 5:30 AM on the Embrace Lifeline 1564, which is the National Emotional Support and Suicide Prevention Hotline.
If you are going through any emotional distress, or if you know someone who is, Embrace’s volunteer operators are always ready to listen, help, and support you and your loved ones. Please do not hesitate to reach out for help. Call 1564.
