History of Rotary in Lebanese Republic

A Part of Our History of Rotary in West Asia

One of the Countries in District 2450

this is not a historical record; we hope that our members can provide us with history of Rotary in this country

The Lebanese Republic is a country of 10,400 sq km with a population of 4.2 million.
The official language is Arabic, but English, French and Armenian are widely spoken.

Throughout Lebanon, there are 21 Rotary Clubs of which 7 are based in the capital city, Beirut.

Beirut is the home of the Rotary Club of Beyrouth, the first club in Lebanon which was chartered on 2 February 1932.
The club has 48 regular members and holds in meetings in French.

The Rotary Club of Tripoli was the second Rotary Club to be chartered on 23 January 1950.
This club has 33 regular members and also holds its meetings in French.

OTHER CLUBS
  Kesroun Rotary Club - In 1974, Rotary Club of Beirut had taken several steps to establish a club in Kesrouan. Past Governors Joseph Najjar, Wahib Nini and Anis Chbat, and Past President Jean Debbané, Amine Bezri, Papken Meguerdichian Babikian Khatchig and multiplied their efforts and personal contacts to attract a team uniform to form the nucleus of the club.

Beginning in 1975 formed the nucleus. In March 1975 it became a provisional Club and sought to finalize the recruitment of the founding members, establish lists of classification and learn procedures and regulations of Rotary International.

The task was not easy. At the time, Kesrouan was a rather residential area and highly complementary to Beirut for its business. Most of its people exercising their profession in the capital, hardly a distant twenty kilometers.

Since then, political events and their aftermath have altered the general appearance of the region.
A multitude of displaced people there are in Beirut to exercise their professional activities. Cities have developed their industries and trade. A port was born in the former naval base.
Banks, shipping agencies, exchange offices, freight forwarders, cinemas and shopping malls have become numerous.

In the new economy, the Club found some justification for its presence to consolidate the energies and bring the stars of the new town.
But the war had its constraints and its misfortunes. We were isolated from the rest of the world for nearly two years, and our request for confirmation and obtaining the charter was to be expected with delays due to almost nonexistent postal services, and it is only 'In February 1978 that we were finally admitted.
The charter became official at the District Conference in Alexandria in April of that year.
The charter, granted in very difficult circumstances for Lebanon was an act of faith in our will to survive and rebuild.

The club would not rest. After brief interruptions to meetings in 1977 due to the bombings and safety requirements, it received the kind hospitality of the Automobile Club of Lebanon (ATCL).
This allowed it to better pursue its activities from the large and luxurious local Kaslik The tasks of the club were therefore twofold - restructuring, recruiting new members, deepening knowledge of Rotary, and a parallel social detail in the region
The club has 30 active members.
   Rotary Club of Chouf - Rotarian activity started in Beirut more than 70 years ago, and it was spread over other regions of Lebanon namely: Beirut, Tripoli, Byblos, Saida, Batroun, Zahle, Meten, Sahel Meten, Chouf, Baabda, Aley, Akkar, Jubeil, Kesrouan, Koura and Zgharta-Zawie.
The Club was established in 1995, and it started its projects in the humanitarian and social fields under the logo "Service Above Self".
The club began a set of projects, some fully implemented and others are under-progress or about to be implemented, with the assistance of the local and abroad Rotarian clubs in addition to the assistance of Rotary International.
TheRotary Club of Chouf joined other clubs in different activities and it was one of the main participants in the Rotary International Convention that was held in Beirut year 2000.

   Aley Rotary Club was established in 1997, and executed about 35 projects with the cooperation of many clubs and NGOs in Lebanon.
The total monetary value of the projects accomplished to-date are valued at approximately US$600,000.
Aley Rotary club currently has 34 active members.