From 28 October until 31 October, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is on a humanitarian visit in Lebanon in the context of a Unesco and Unicef forum.
The Grand Duchess is organising the forum Stand Speak Rise Up - To End Sexual Violence in Fragile Zones with Unesco and Unicef next March. As part of this initiative, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is visiting Lebanon as a Unesco Goodwill Ambassador and Unicef Eminent Advocate.
The Grand Duchess' aim is to better understand the extent of sexual violence in one of the fragile zones that the forum will focus on. The Grand Duchess will listen to victims' testimonies about surviving sexual assault and will visit refugee camps, a hospital, and a safe house shelter. She also hopes to meet with NGOs in an effort to inform the decision of which NGOs the foundation should support.
Lebanon is one of the countries that has been most impacted by the Syria crisis. The number of refugees has reached a quarter of the entire Lebanese population since the crisis first began.
On the second day of her visit, the Grand Duchess visited a refugee camp in Bar Elias on Tuesday morning. She helped distribute packages of food and talked to some of the camp's residents.
Later that day, she visited the workshops of the "Arc en ciel" association. She met with a woman from Luxembourg, who has worked with the association for three years. "Arc en ciel" is a Lebanese non-profit organisation that helps people in need and supports children with disabilities.
The Grand Duchess also visited a Caritas shelter for victims of sexual violence.
