Amid the nationwide economic crisis, municipalities in Lebanon continue to face financial constraints, limiting their ability to provide essential public services.

In response, the USAID-funded Community Support Program (CSP) trained the municipalities of Amioun, Bechmezzine (North), and Ain Ebil (South) on attracting donors’ and diaspora support to fund critically needed community interventions. These include trainings on proposal writing, fundraising, and mobilizing diaspora support, among others.

On June 6, 2024, the Amioun diaspora committee, formed through CSP’s technical assistance, was able to secure a $238,000 contribution from the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Amioun’s diaspora to complete two community projects. The first includes upgrading the village’s water pumping station, constructing a 145-kilowatt solar farm to ensure sustainable operations, and installing a chlorination system. The second project includes installing a reverse osmosis water treatment plant to provide 250 households with potable water and eliminate the need for bottled water.

“Securing an additional six hours of potable water had a significant impact on residents, greatly enhancing water availability and reducing the cost of buying potable water by 80%”, says Malek Fares, Mayor of Amioun.