In Bashkinta, our school community in Saint-Vincent embodies the benevolent and comforting power of solidarity.
There are days when the silence weighs heavily. Days when, looking at our country, Lebanon, a sense of helplessness overwhelms us. In the South, families—our brothers and sisters—continue to live in uncertainty, sometimes in danger, often in destitution. Villages stand firm with courage and without any security. Children grow up with, in the background, something others never hear: fear.
And here, elsewhere in our village, Bashkinta in the Metn, life seems to go on. Schools are opening their doors; pupils are studying, laughing, dreaming, and so on. Yet it seems to us that an invisible divide is widening: between those who are experiencing the crisis and those who no longer feel it. Faced with this, a question haunts us, as educators, with increasing urgency: what can we do, we who refuse to be indifferent?
And above all: how can we nurture young people capable of remaining sensitive, committed and supportive?
And also: how can we reconcile our limited resources with that inner fire that drives us to act, that fire which makes our hearts beat in unison with those of our suffering brothers and sisters?
We are aware that, as an educational community, we cannot welcome everyone who leaves their homes to flee the war. Our facilities are limited, our resources fragile. But deep down, something refuses to be extinguished. A flame, a conviction: we must act, however modestly.
Perhaps it is less a matter of resolving this tension than of living with it: humbly accepting our limitations, without ever stifling that impulse of compassion that sets us in motion. For it is often through faithfulness to small gestures, through a genuine and steadfast presence, that this fire becomes a light for us and for others.
But deep within us remains a conviction: to act, even in a humble way, is essential. For to do nothing would already be to give up.
In our school, we have chosen to sow seeds of peace:
- by visiting the displaced families welcomed into our village.
- by informing our pupils of the reality, truthfully and accurately, to break through indifference;
- by creating weekly spaces for prayer, reflection and dialogue to learn how to transform anger and reject violence;
- by organising meetings with committed witnesses
- by launching concrete initiatives: collections, correspondence with villages in the South, solidarity projects with NGOs;
Because we firmly believe that a socially conscious young person grows into a committed adult.
In this spirit, the final-year students (studying for the technical baccalaureate and the academic certificate) founded a Solidarity Club, united by a shared vision: ‘let us build peace’. They chose the theme ‘Sparks of peace in the night of our country’ for their graduation celebration, and sent messages and videos of support to children in the South.
Their initiative was enriched by powerful testimonies from the village:
- the Secretary General of the Red Cross, engaged in a daily struggle to save lives
- the President of the NGO “Nauraj”, a witness to steadfast solidarity that transcends fear.
- a journalist confronted with the reality on the ground and the limits of her reporting;
Through these voices, the pupils discover that, behind the war, there are faces, stories, a humanity that resists.
In Lebanon, here in St Vincent Baskinta, the Sisters of Charity of St Jeanne-Antide continue to believe, despite everything:
that peace is born in hearts,
that education can transform a generation,
and that solidarity can lift up a people.
We may have done little in the face of the scale of the needs: just 30 food parcels and a few hygiene kits. And yet, they carry within them 365 fragments of peace offered by the pupils, 200 fragments of peace from families, 80 fragments of peace from the teaching staff, as well as so many other gestures, sometimes unseen, from the people of the village.
So many acts of generosity which, together, have managed to push back, if only for a moment, the darkness enveloping our beloved country.
This is how we act: humbly, but with perseverance, sowing seeds of peace.
- We have handed over the parcels so that, through the NGO Nawraj, they may reach our brothers and sisters, each containing a message such as:
- With all our hearts, we are with you… your resilience gives us hope. You are not alone… we stand by your side through prayer and love.
- Your resilience is a source of dignity and strength for us all; we will not forget you.
- Lebanon lives on in you, and through your tenacity, it endures.
- May God watch over you and grant you strength and courage, and peace to our country.
- Our love reaches you through this modest aid.
- Your faith and patience are a light for us in these difficult times our country is going through
On behalf of the educational community
Sr Marie Rached
5 May 2026
