The Beirut Story

ABOUT THE MISSION:

We believe "the only weapon against poverty, violence and extremism is an high-quality education."

 

Dear Friends:

Imagine you are a parent of young girl named Sarah  By no fault of your own, with the backdrop of a pandemic and an economic crisis, you find yourself in a very difficult place. You must decide between providing the basics of food and shelter for your family, or sending your young Sarah to school.

Born out of this very sad reality, ​Adopt A Student | Save A Nation works to raise funding to pay the tuition and school expenses of children from kindergarten to 12th grade. This charity is directed to help underprivileged and developmentally challenged children in our local communities and around the world. At the core of this mission, is the plan to educate and inspire student, k-12 to never lose hope and dream big! Doing all this, one child at a time.

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Why we started with Beirut:

Unfortunately, the children of Lebanon now find themselves in desperate need. Although, there are many other places that need our support, we decided to start with Beirut. We are also starting here because of our personal connection and valuable relationships with our ambassadors, acting as boots-on-the-ground for us inside the Beirut schools. Over the last few years the country’s economy has collapsed. Hyper inflation, along with fuel and electricity shortage are making it worst every day. Hope has ceased, and schools are shuttering.

When we heard stories about many children like Sarah, we were moved to action.

Parents are doing their best now to provide the basic needs for their children, such as food, water, electricity. It’s about survival. Education and school expenses have become a secondary need, not a priority to survive. Many students are taken out of school to work and help the family with the expenses.

The action plan: By paying the child’s school tuition, Adopt A Student | Save A Nation is keeping the child in school, inspiring them to continue to believe big, and yes, saving their future.  

By adopting one child at a time, in the amount of $333.00/school year, we are able to connect the donor directly to a student and help dramatically and positively impact her future. Also noteworthy: Unlike here in the US and Canada, 90% of students attend private school. During this crisis, the few public schools are funded by a now bankrupt government and teachers are quitting or on strike and these few school are on the brink. 

We founded and registered this charity under the name Educational Assistance Fund as a 501c3, in the fall of 2021. To date, we have raised over $300,000 and saved over 1000 student from dropping out of school. (2023/24 school year goal is $600,000.) Please join us by adopting a student, giving hope and saving a child's future.

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Many blessing to you, my family, friends and colleagues.

 

Sincerely,

Edward and Diana Nassar

Project Directors & Ambassadors

"the test of the morality of a society will be judged by what it does for it's children" Theologian, D. Bonhoeffer

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ABOUT US:

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DIANA'S STORY:

Diana's experience as a a lawyer and prosecutor in the Cleveland Juvenile court, exposed her to the unfortunate reality of underprivilege, undereducated and under served children, and how this has effected their lives and impacted their future so negatively. They've lost all hope and turned to crime, and their innocence poured out like water. Diana has seen how this drains our resources and how these children are destined for failure. This tragic outcome effects us all, as a family, a city, nation and our greater world. Diana's passion for children's education is based on her path in life. Born and raised in Beirut, Diana was able to overcome much, including a bruising 20 year civil war. She later graduated from University Of Lebanon Law School. Shortly after, Diana and I were married and she came to US barely able to speak English. She went to Case Western Reserve Law for her LLM and Marshall Law for her JD.

 

EDWARD'S STORY:

I was born and raised in Beirut until I was seven  years old. When I was about four, a civil war started in Lebanon. During those years, I remember a place of refuge: our Chapel near our home and my school down the street. The elders of our community did everything they could to keep us in school and to give us a fighting chance to have a meaningful future. Later, I was one of the fortunate ones. My father and mother found a way out of Lebanon and we immigrated to the United States Of America, settling in Cleveland. Today, I've been blessed and have realized the American dream, with my wife Diana and 3 children. I have a career in asset management working for Nuveen, Henderson and now Janus Henderson.  Diana and I love children and feel that God has opened the door for us to step forward in faith and help the helpless at this critical time in their young  lives.

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF A BEIRUT EDUCATION, NOW MORE THAN EVER:

To understand the success of the Lebanese people, personally and professionally, both inside and out of Lebanon, you have to understand the history and excellence of their private educational system, and the compassion and heart of the people behind it. Lebanon has one of the highest college and university graduate rates in the world. This valuable education of these young children is the key to the country’s survival, the only remnant of hope for its future. At the core, a Beirut education has prevented the forces of extremism to to overtake the nation of Lebanon as a whole. 

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Please see below the LETTER and VIDEO from the Dean of our first school we adopted, Sister Seraphime.