SWISS4LEBANON (formerly Swiss4Syria) was founded in Zurich in 2013 with the aim of supporting Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Jessica Mor-Camenzind is one of the founders. Two years after the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, she and her two partners no longer wanted to stand idly by and called on Facebook for a clothing donation to support refugees. The spontaneous appeal resulted in 40 tons of donated clothes being distributed in various refugee camps in southern Lebanon. Thanks to the willingness of the Swiss population to help, the organization now runs nine aid projects on the ground.
Many people say: A donation is a drop in the bucket. But for the local families it is a tsunami.
Jessica, in what way is Swiss4Lebanon involved with Syrian refugees?
We have built a school in the south of Lebanon for 140 Syrian refugee children. We have set up various programs. With Tamina4Education we support Lebanese students in Lebanon, with the help of Help4Beirut we rebuild apartments that were severely destroyed by the explosion in the fall of 2020 and with Food4Life we distribute food packages in Lebanon to those in need.
The story of Swiss4Lebanon began in 2013. How did it come about?
A good friend of mine, who is now president of our association, Tamr Amer, sent an email in 2013: Syrian refugees are freezing to death in Lebanon, do you have clothes? We set up a collection and were extremely overrun. When we then helped to distribute the clothes on site, we quickly realized that much more than clothes were needed.
When they found the drowned boy Aylan on the beach in Turkey in 2015, we all woke up.
When they found the drowned boy Aylan on the beach in Turkey in 2015, we all woke up.
What were key moments or milestones along the way from the idea to the organization that Swiss4Lebanon is today?
The milestones actually always had to do with the social media posts that triggered the key moments. On the one hand, the first clothing collection, which brought together 3 tons of clothes, but on the other hand also the visits on site. The situation in Lebanon touched me very much: to see how Syrian refugee children live here in the smallest tents on 15sqm in so-called "inofficial settlements". And when they found the drowned boy Aylan in 2015, dead on the beach in Turkey, we all woke up. I posted that and through that post, ZDF in Germany approached me. Later, other media like NZZ and Blick followed. And through that, foundations also approached us.
Next year you will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the organization. What positive influences are you particularly proud of?
We have achieved a lot and we are also proud that we have done it thanks to the donors, but it is far from finished. We always have ideas, but the most important thing, I think, is that the school is secured for the next few years. We want to enlarge the school: We need more space; there are so many children who have a need for education. And what impressed me personally: The children have nothing, but give everything. They came to our school with nothing and, apart from literacy and math, they leave with a suitcase full of discipline; they leave with pride and they leave with a confidence. We have sown a great many seeds, and they will now blossom.
Can you tell us a story that shows your influence?
When Ghazala, a little girl from Syria, came to our school, she did not talk. She couldn't hear and she didn't smile. She just sat in the corner, absorbed in herself. And now when I saw her in February, she was talking, she understood us, she was laughing, her eyes were shining. We pay a lot of attention to her destiny, because we want to give her a lot. She has gained a lot of self-confidence through the hearing aid, through therapy and through our school.
When you're in the camps, it's really heavy. But at that moment I transform that and think about where we can do something.
When you're in the camps, it's really heavy. But at that moment I transform that and think about where we can do something.
Jessica Mor-Camenzind grew up in Zurich as the daughter of a Lebanese mother and a Swiss father. The mother of two sons studied at the Hotel Management School in Lucerne. Today she runs several businesses including Mezze à gogo, which offers Lebanese cooking classes. She launched the real estate newsletter wohnungsnews.ch and is an author of various magazines. As co-founder of the non-profit organization SWISS4Lebanon, she travels to Lebanon several times a year and is in constant contact with local NGO partners.
