Iliya Harik
Memorial Scholarship
Soon after Iliya’s death on February 24th, I learned that several people had expressed interest in making a contribution in his memory to a worthy organization or cause in which he was interested. What came quickly to mind was a project to support education in Lebanon—and encouragement of a well educated, clear-thinking younger generation.
After discussing the idea of a scholarship in Iliya’s memory with family and a few friends, I decided to start a modest fund to help a worthy young Lebanese person pursue higher education in his or her home country. We hope it will make a real difference in that person’s life and potential for eventually contributing to a peaceful, independent, and progressive Lebanon. Specifically, the scholarship will be awarded to a graduate of Shweir Secondary School, Iliya’s high school, to attend the American University of Beirut and, if possible, study political science, social science, or a similar field reflecting Iliya’s own interests. The award should be based on both merit and need.
Dhour Shweir, the village where Iliya grew up, is one of the most beautiful and interesting small towns in Mount Lebanon. For at least the last hundred years, it has produced many well educated sons and daughters, successful in the professions and other careers both in Lebanon and far abroad. The school that Iliya attended (the present high school is in a different spot) was located dramatically on a mountainside with a splendid view, in picturesque stone buildings of traditional Lebanese architecture. All his siblings—one brother and seven sisters—attended it and remembered it fondly.
The American University of Beirut is, of course, one of the best known and most eminent institutions of higher learning in the Middle East. Iliya earned his B.A. and M.A. in philosophy there, and it was at AUB that he and I met in the late 1950s, when I went to Lebanon on a Rotary Foundation Fellowship. The secondary school and the university—which Iliya would not have been able to attend without substantial scholarship help—held a special place in his heart, and still do in mine.
The New York office of AUB has kindly agreed to manage the scholarship fund. Depending on how much money is accumulated, I think the scholarship could be for one or more individuals, for one or more years. Contributions will be acknowledged and will be tax-deductible. Checks should be made out to American University of Beirut, with “Iliya Harik Memorial Scholarship” on the memo line. The address is:
American University of Beirut
Attn: W. Stephen Jeffrey, Development Office
3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 8th floor
New York, NY 10017
To read more about Iliya's achievements, read the posting in early March 2007 at the "In Memory of...": http://www.shweir.com/in_memory_of.htm
Rahbat (Sacred Heart) School is in need of help to continue to provide education to over 300 students
It has provided fine education for over 115 years. Many of us are graduates of this fine elementary school.
This is one opportunity for us to express our gratitude, especially during challenging times like this, after the war.
Tél. : 01/200 635 – 6 - 7
Since 1889, the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, has been working in Choueir to promote education for all, without distinction.
The school has 308 students (2006) but it has many difficulties to continue her mission considering the economic situation in Lebanon, especially after this latest war.
The school needs to pay for teachers and for school materials but many families are in no position to pay for the fees.
The Congregation trying to do her best to keep the school working but we are trying to find outside help, especially from those who love Choueir.
This school is an important institution in Choueir; we hope that you will be able to make a little contribution, to keep this school in plan for the good of the kids and the village.
Nom : Congrégation des Sœurs des Saints-Cœurs
de Jésus et de Marie
Banque : Byblos Bank
Branche : Tabaris
Swift : BYBALBBX
Numéro de Compte en U.S.D. : 380-3651390-003
Peace of God with you
Sister Juliette, ss.cc.
Sister Juliette is sister of Anwar Sawaya who just retired from a long career serving in the Municipality.
********************
Most recent information appear first
Reception honoring AUB President John Waterbury
hosted by
M/M B. Hambrecht in San Francisco, California
A friendly chat with Jumana (C), (?), and Michel (R) Nabti, daughter & son of
Drs. Michel & Patricia Nabti
Dr.
Patricia Nabti is founder and president of Association for Volunteer Services in
Lebanon - www.avs.org.lb
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
This was a wonderful reception to meet with many AUB Grads and supporters. I wish as many of you could have heard Mr. Waterbury's presentation. He gave a great overview and update about the state of the AUB and progress made... increasing significantly the enrollment yet working with very limited resources.
Did you know that AUB only gets less than 2 million dollars annually from U.S. Government? Does any of you know of corporate matching funds programs to help boost contribution... How about Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, HP, Intel, Ford Foundation, etc... ?
That is where Dr. Karim Nasser's pledge and many donors and supporters effort help keep the AUB to remain a shining star among universities around the world. For those of you graduates of AUB, you know the many doors that opened for you to be more successful after graduating from AUB. Even those of us who did not study or graduate from AUB, we have seen the positive impact that this institution has made on individuals, families, companies communities, regions and countries.
Back to our little town and Shweir Foundation. I urge as many of you to help us raise at least $5,000 annually to match Dr. Karim Nasser's pledge so we can send more young people to higher education.
Below is my cover letter to Mr. Waterbury.
**********************
January 5, 2005
Mr. John Waterbury,
President
American University of Beirut
Dear Mr. Waterbury,
It gives me great pleasure to meet with you and discuss the $50,000 matching fund pledge of $5,000 per year for the next ten years that Dr. Karim Nasser has initiated to help bright students from Shweir attend the AUB.
This is predicated on the Shweir Foundation and Shweir.com to help raise the other $5,000 per year for a cumulative total of $100,000.
As a co-founder of Shweir.com and Shweir Foundation, I would like to tell you how proud we are every time we reference or talk about the AUB. The people of the Shweir and the AUB go a long way. I will mention some here:
Nehmat Yafet, who was born in Shweir and became a popular industrialist in Brazil helped build the Yafet Memorial Library at the AUB. My cousin, Riad Khuniesser, is a librarian there now.
Dr. Raymond Ghosn was a professor of Engineering at AUB when he was killed during the civil war. In 2001, the Engineering department dedicated the Raymond Ghosn Memorial Building.
There are many many others like Mansur Jurdak who was a distinguished mathematician and an astronomer and taught at the AUB in the early 1900’s and made many planetary discoveries and his daughter Angela Jurdak Khoury who graduated from AUB and became Lebanon’s first woman diplomat.
Attached please find relevant information about Shweir, Dr. Karim Nasser, and the people behind the scene who will take an active part to make this pledge a reality.
On behalf of Dr. Karim Nasser, the people of Shweir, Shweir Foundation and Shweir.com we wish you great success in 2005 and for years to come.
We will do our best to work together to help deserving bright students access to one of the best universities in the world.
Sincerely,
Anwar George Kenicer
Attachments
Cc: Kr. Karim Nasser, Shweir Foundation
******************
For those of you who wish to pledge a donation, please do so at the Bulletin Board so. You can post on the following web page: http://www.shweir.com/cgi-bin/bboard/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001441
Dr. Karim Nasser, Ph.D. sent
$5,000 to AUB president John Waterburry
as the "Corner Stone to establishing the Shweir Scholarship Fund at AUB".
Excerpts of the
letter sent from Dr. Nasser to AUB President are as follows:
December 6, 2004
Mr. John Waterbury, President
American University of Beirut
Dear Mr. Waterbury,
This is to inform you that in my private correspondence with Shweir Foundation of the USA, I have committed to match their annual donation for the Shweir Scholarship Fund that will be established at AUB. My commitment is for a maximum of $5,000 dollars per year for the next ten years.
In order to get the ball rolling, it gives me great pleasure to enclose a cheque for the amount of $5,000 that will serve as the corner stone in establishing the Shweir Scholarship Fund at AUB. The Scholarships are to be awarded to students from the village of Shweir, Lebanon. The terms and conditions for the recipients will be outlined and communicated to you in the near future.
My sincere best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Yours truly,
K. W. Nasser
Professor Emeritus
cc: Shweir Foundation
**********************
As you can see from above, the matching fund has already been
committed and sent to the AUB,
Usually, matching fund sponsors do not send the funds until the community raises
a certain amount to be matched.
Here Dr. Karim is showing faith in us and trusting that we will as a community
raise at least another $5,000 per year to help students from our town advance to
higher education. How long would it take for the people of Shweir to match
his generous donation? Let us show that we, as a community, can rise to
the occasion.
Initially he planned on sending the funds to the Shweir Foundation. However, since we do not have the tax exempt status yet, it is being sent to the AUB directly. In either case, his matching funds and what we raise for this purpose would eventually go to the AUB.
So, when you consider your New Year's resolutions, this is one of the worthy projects to consider.
For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Karim Nasser, I would like to share a few glimpses about this outstanding man. Briefly and until Roseanne, his daughter, sends me more worthy information... Dr. Karim grew up in a home directly above the home where my family and I grew up. Later, Wajih & Rizallah Amin Nasser lived there until Wajih moved to Dhour & Rizallah to Canada. He knew my father, went on trips with him and referred to him as uncle. When he was a young student, some one helped guide and facilitate for him to get higher education. He came to Canada as a student. He excelled in his studies, got his doctorate and taught at the University of Saskatoon. Dr. Karim values and is eternally grateful for the help he received that transformed his life. In return, he wants to open as many doors to the bright people who may not have the means for higher education. In Canada, he has about a dozen scholarships in his honor. And now, he wants to help out the students of Shweir and trusts that there are enough people who share his objectives.
In February and March of 2004, I had the pleasure of spending some time with Dr. Nasser when we went on a business trip to Arizona. By the way, his grandfather used to work in the mines of Miami, AZ, yes it is not a typo, there is a Miami, Arizona and we visited the town and found the building that his grandfather built long ago.
Below are a few pictures from our trip.
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
| Karim At the Phoenix Biltmore Hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright | W/ American Indian Goddess of good harvest & Abundance | Karim & Anwar At our suite... tfaddallow. |
Shaking hands with a friend |
At the botanical garden learning about plants w/ Nicolas Khonaysser | Anwar W/ my brother Andre and Karim |
Did you know that Dr. Karim invented a simple device that measures the proper consistency or slump & application of cement ?
Not only that, but he is offering to donate part of the proceeds from any devices we sell to help raise additional funds for Shweir Foundation. We will soon feature that device and hope to market it throughout the Middle East. So, I would like to call on our Scholarship committee to rise to the occasion and get into action or high gear as we say in USA.
For those of you who wish to pledge a donation, please do so at the Bulletin Board so. You can post on the following web page: http://www.shweir.com/cgi-bin/bboard/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001441
Thank you Dr. Karim for your love of your town and for your generous support.
Anwar
*******************************
A glimpse of emails behind the scene among the Shweir.com family
----- Original Message -----
From: "K Nasser"
Sent: Saturday, December 07, 2002 2:04 PM
Subject: Shweir Scholarships Fund
Dear Anwar, My sincere and warm congratulations to you and all
the founders and collaborators of Shweir.com. I am very proud of you all for the
great efforts and dedication you have shown in bringing the Shweirieh together
by means of the web. Bon courage for your future continued success.
Possibly, you might be aware that I have established a Scholarship at AUB since
the early seventiies, with first priority given to students from Shweir. After I
got introduced to Shweir.com by Clautille & Ghassan, I have been wondering how
can I help those wonderful and enthusiastic Shweirieh? Well, here is what I came
up with: how about if we establish a " SHWEIR SCHOLARSHIPS FUND " at AUB and I
will be prepared to match up all yearly contributions by others for a maximum of
$5,000.00 per year for the next ten years. Will you please discuss this proposal
with the other founders at an early convenience and let me know your reaction
and decision.
My warm best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, your
family, your mother, sister and brothers and their families. I enjoyed meeting
you all when I was at Berkley University and I have wonderful memories of your
generous hospitality and the good time we spent together. Please give all the
Sha'yah families my Tahiaty and Salamaty Alharrat and do hope to see you again.
Also, my best wishes for the Holidays to the founders and all the Shweirieh
families that correspond with you on Shweir.com.
Sincerely,
Karim W. Nasser
*******************
Dear Karim,
What a wonderful surprise to get your email.
It feels like the angels are helping to answer our prayers.
Thank you to Ghassan and Clautield for telling you about shweir.com family.
Thank you for your kind words. What makes this website so special is our team
effort and we are glad that you are joining our team with your generous
proposal. I will copy as many of our active members and request of them to
forward to anyone that I may have missed.
My family are all doing well, they join me in sending best regards to you and
your family.
On behalf of our Shweir.com family, Welcome and Thank you, thank you!
Hope to see you again soon.
Anwar
*******************
Gee, I am speechless, this is by far one of the best offers we
have received in the short history of our web page. I am sure the gratitude
will go beyond the few listed on this email. We have talked about this
idea before but, my friend you are giving us the
added incentive to really begin some kind of a process to start ASAP. Guys
if we are voting on this You Got my Yea. Hey Guys, I will be getting my
computer back at the house to start these drives, cross you fingers... My hands
are still tight at this location, just you wait. Welcome Karim we are
lucky to have you join our efforts.
George Matar
*********************
-----Original Message-----
From: Jamil Bou-Saab, P.E.
Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 1:16 PM
Subject: Re: Shweir Scholarships Fund
This is a great news. Thank you Karem. As I mentioned before I will be more than happy to provide a draft of application and requirements for Scholarship to a Committee of Volunteers to review and comment. Please let me know. Regards,
Jamil
**********************
Elie BouKheir wrote:
Hey Guys,
I am thrilled to death about what Karim has offered, we can't have it any better. A dream is coming true. this was thought of to be one of the objectives of Shweir Foundation, should'nt we get back on track to finalize the legalization of our Foundation? as Anwar been pushing. Elie,
**********************
Anwar, This is probably the best thing that will ever come out of Shweir.com. Although, for the time of being I am very stretched out, and cannot serve on any councils or committees, I want you to know that I am in, and when called upon I will do my best, your friend, Habeeb
********************
Hello all, I am also thrilled to the idea of the scholarship my
family also sponsored a scholarship yearly at the LAU Beirut where i studied and
as soon as i head back permanently for Beirut we will resume this practice and
we will also do it through shweir.com so count me for the very near future.
In the mean time i would love to be part of this project, however i would also
like to see new participanst and new volunteers come forth and take part in our
activities. If no volunteers come forth i will be more than happy to volunteer
for this project, after all it is one of my favorites next to the library.
Finally, if you need me, i am always there.
Elias
****************************
I will be delighted to participate.
Salim Mujais MD
****************************
Shabab, Marhaba, Whatever there is for the benefit of Shweir and Shweireih, please consider > me in the first row without asking. Riad
****************************
I think First we should start by establishing a Scholarship Committee that might consist of 5 or 7 members of whom some should be residing in Shweir.
In Summary We need some suggestions on how to establish this committee. My thought is by volunteering and I am sure we can get five or seven volunteers. After we establish the committee I will be more than happy to provide draft requirements, application and guide lines for the Scholarship to the committee for their review and comments. After finalizing the requirements and the application we will publish it on the Web for the applicants.
Hope to get your names to be volouteers soon so we could start working. I know that we had an extensive talk about the Shweir Foundation but I do know how far are we from establishing it? We can work on the Scholarship Committee simultaneously inorder to have the scholarship funds available soon to the successful students. Regards, Jamil
"Matar, George" wrote:
I'd like to be one of the volunteers. Lets make sure that we have good and unbiased selection process. Jamil, nobody can do it any better buddy. Sorry to have missed you when you came to Houston, Elie, where are buddy, you might as well be living in Alabama... Shame shame shame. Janice and I will be coming to visit you in the next couple of weeks. Need I keep an I on you :) :) George
-----Original Message-----
From: Jamil Bou-Saab, P.E.
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 10:02 AM
Subject: Re: Shweir Scholarships FundThank you George, Elie Boukheir we need you to be one of the Committee members. I hope the individuals on this e-mail list that live in Shweir are interested in Volunteering if not please let us know so we can have a wider search for example Ms. Mary Sawaya. Hope to hear from all. Thanks, Jamil
Elie BouKheir wrote:
Jamil, I am more than happy to be a committee member, you can always count on me, just let me know how can I help.Regards, Elie.
Thank you Elie. Hope to get more names. Jamil
>From: "Jamil Bou-Saab, P.E."
>Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 16:33:51 -0600
Good news so far the following are the names of the volunteers
for the Scholarship Committee:
>Elie Boukheir
>Habib Moujaes (Lives in Shweir)
>Dr. Salim Moujaes ( Hope to see you soon)
>Jamil Bou-Saab
>George Matar
> Riad Khunieser (Lives in Shweir)
We need one more person, preferable that he/she lives in Shweir. Thanks,
Jamil
Great Jamil, I would like to recommend Karim Nasser, i believe it would be a good idea to include him as well in this committee. We appreciate his contribution of course however we are interested in his active participation as well and i believe this would be the perfect opportunity. What do you guys think?? Elias
Terrific.
Great suggestion ya Lallous.
I believe this team will be dynamic and will get the scholarship program on the
fast track.
And if some of you can save some energy for the Shweir Foundation... that would
be wonderful.
As one saying goes, "May the Force be with You".
Anwar
----- Original Message -----
From: "K Nasser"
Sent: December.21, 2002
Subject: Shweir Scholarships Fund
Dear Anwar, Thank you very much for the cuts & paste emails.
You Guys of Shweir.com are a wonderful, honest and enthusiastic group that
should give happiness, pride, energy, encouragement and initiative to all the
Shweirieh.
Further to your comments, let me first thank Elias for his suggestion to include
me as a member of the committee. I would love to do that but I'd rather leave
that to you guys, yet you can be sure of my moral and financial support all the
time. However, if you think it will help your efforts, I am prepared to be an
adviser to the committee and if need be, an honorary member.
To help congeal your efforts, I suggest the committee may start with
establishing the aims and conditions of the SHWEIR SCHOLARSHIPS FUND. As an
example, you may look up and refer to the following website:
www.usask.ca/registrar/awardsguide/continuing/search.shtml
under Keywords enter: nasser under category enter: Agriculture or any other
college, such as: engineering, medecine and so on.. The information you get is
about the Nasser scholarships at the University. You can expand your search and
see the terms of many other
scholarships and application forms etc.
My sincere best wishes to you all and May God bless your efforts.
Sincerely, Karim
Again Thank you Karim W. Nasser
for re-energizing the Scholarship program
and Thank you to all of you who volunteered
Shweir.com sends Holiday Greeting to Nuns' (Rahbat) and Elementary Schools
Click on small photos to enlarge
In December, 2002, the Shweir.com family sent symbolic gifts to
the Rahbat and Elementary schools.
Each gift included a Christmas card and a box that contains 2500 stickers and
decals that teachers can use in educational projects and as a motivational tool
to brighten students homework and reports. The decals and stickers are in
bold multi colors, some shiny with glitter and come in dozens of shapes, and
types like stars, planes, cars, boats, rainbows, "Bravo", plants, animals,
scenery, flowers, etc.
Thank you Dr. Ghosn, Miss Mary Sawaya and Sandy Moujaes for delivering them and taking these pictures which we can share with our Mughtaribeen from around the world.
On a related topic
Dear Shabab, Marhaba. While I was reading the newspaper today (Al-Nahar), I saw this news which I am sending for you to take note of one way we can get books for our center.
Congratulations to Damour on their successes. We are happy for them. It is great for all towns to share their successes for mutual benefit.
***************************
One Cornerstone for the Library
Mayor Ghosn & Sandy Oversee Progress
Tiling Floor of New Community Center
-----
Original Message -----
Hi, attached are the photos of the library Dr. Nabil wanted you to see how the work is going two to three days and the work of the toublit (tiling or marbelizing) will be done we still have to paint the walls.
Love to all from Shweir
From Shweir Bulletin Board
| Author | Topic: Community Center/Library | ||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
|||
One corner Stone for the Library
I like to tell you about one Shweiry came to me carrying a stone for the library. Waleed Abou Kair left Shweir last Saturday morning with his Swiss wife and children. Waleed immigrated from Shweir and Lebanon since twelve year to work in a hospital in Geneva. When he came back home for a short visit to his parents and friends, he thought that the best thing he could bring with him for his fellowship are books, books for the library which he wants young Shweirieh to have.
Our good friend carried four heavy boxes full with one computer and books of different titles and subjects, which he collected from institutions in Geneva. He carried the boxes all the way from Geneva to his parent's home in Shweir and then to my home in Dhour. This is not all, but he made his lovely wife helps him in carrying the stuff too. When I saw Waleed and his wife that day I was surprised with the heavy load they are carrying. I thought, when Waleed called to tell me he has something for the library that I will get few books Waleed used to read.
I was so proud with the gentleman, whom I know since he was a young boy as old as his children. Waleed made me feel that a Shweiry, wherever he is and whatever he does, is always devoted to his hometown and to its causes and if he doesn't put himself in the service of her majesty and his fellowship, he would feel the unimportance of his presence as a human being. All what he has done through his life is nothing, if Shweir doesn't see him great in what he is doing to upraise the name that give us all this proud hearted feeling of which we all have.
I hope Waleed and his family had a nice vacation in Lebanon. I tried to visit them at his parent's home to thank him again for carrying Shweir problems over his head, he who is living in the most quit organized country in the world, but I didn't find him to my bad luck. Waleed, thank you my friend, and please thank your lovely wife for helping us in putting one cornerstone in the library building for the young.
I wish our Baladieh would give the place soon for the Community
Center to organize the library, which every one of us is ready to help in
building it.
Riad
***********************
Graduating Class
of 2001 of
"Official Secondary School of Shweir" &
Honoring Miss Mary Sawaya on July 9, 2001
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Toufic Al Homsi, Director of Secondary Educationin Lebanon, |
present Medal to Miss Mary Sawaya |
 |
 |
 |
Congratulations to Miss Mary and to the Graduates, Good Luck & Bon Chance
***************************
On
the occasion of "Cleanliness Week" in Lebanon, the "Women's
Society" sponsored an art drawing competition among the students from the
primary, secondary and high school in Shweir... four drawings were selected from
each school segment. Winners were recognized and awarded prizes...
the twelve top drawings were collated into a nice Calendar as follows:
Many thanks to Reema Abi Kheir for
providing us with the above Calendar
Congratulations to all the fine artists who participated and the above
winners
************************
Books to start the first Library in Shweir
From the proceeds of the sale of the special
Shweir T-Shirts that were
designed by Leila Matar as featured at the
"Shweir On The Beach
2001" in Texas,
the team of Shweir.com bought these books to send to Shweir to start the New
Library.
Samih Baaklini will take most of the educational books, Abe Sawaya will
others
 Elie Boukheir brought most of the Gardening Books, Nabil Matar will bring hard cover Photo (Over America and Europe), Microsoft Office 2000 and Shakespeare |
 Anwar will bring some of the above books, Waleed Moujaes volunteered to bring some and others will bring the rest. |
 Souheil (Tom) Khonaysser & Samih Baaklini taking inventory |
**************************
Now for the important Questions...
What would be the best set up for the new Library?
What is the most suitable location for the new Library?
What is best way to make books accessible yet monitor and control
inventory?
Would there be enough volunteers to keep it going?
Any Librarians among us?
Your suggestions and comments are welcome.
You can share your comments with everyone on our interactive Shweir Bulletin
Board
email in code: anwar2 (at) shweir dot com
**************************
Note: We sent two boxes of books that were donated by
LAA (see below) and shipped to
the schools. It cost $75 to ship each box weighing about 20-22 lbs. or
about 10 kilos.
We still have one box of the books that was donated by LAA to send.
Our team felt that if we can have volunteers to take some of the books,
we can save that extra money and can buy more books with the saving.
Anyone going to Shweir and can take some extra books, please
contact Anwar email in code: anwar2 (at) shweir dot com
*******************
Computer books to Shweir Schools
Books are donated by the Lebanese American Association
Date: April 18, 2001
To: Lebanese American
Association (LAA) Board of Directors
From: Anwar George Kenicer
Re: Computer Books
This is to inform you that I am in receipt of the following list of books that I will mail to one high school and one elementary school, each of which just received their first computers in January and February of 2001. (please review attached information about the computer drive for the schools).
These books, although some are dated for U.S. rapid changing technology, would be the perfect addition to the students and teachers of these two schools. The list is as follows:
|
Book Title |
To High School |
To Elementary School |
|
Internet for Dummies
2
2 |
||
On behalf of the principals, teachers and the students of both of the schools, I wish to thank you for giving them some of the educational tools to become more productive and proud citizens.
Thank you very much for your kind contribution. Sincerely, Anwar George Kenicer
 Total Books donated by LAA |
 Books to Shweir Hi |
 Books to Primary School |
 Other Donated "Experienced" Books |
Note:
The U. S. Postal Service limits shipments to Lebanon to a total of 22 lbs. per
box at a cost of $77.60 via Air Mail. With additional $5 for insurance.
They do not provide for Surface or Ship service like they used to before.
I was able to add three additional books to the box that was sent to Shweir High
School. The next box will be sent to Shweir Hi will include the balance of the
LAA donated books plus as many of the other donated and "Experienced"
books. I will add copies of family tree charts. Anwar
From:
A. G. Kenicer
Email: email in code: anwar2 (at) shweir dot com
April
24, 2001
Mrs.
Hoda Khalifeh, Principal
Dhour Choueir Official Primary School
Dhour Shweir
Lebanon
Miss
Mary Sawaya, Principal
Miss Sabah Moujaes, Principal
Dhour Shweir Official High-School
Dhour Shweir
Lebanon
Dear
Mss. Khalifeh, Sawaya and Moujaes,
Enclosed
please find computer books, a copy of the list of books that the Lebanese
American Association (LAA) donated and a letter from George Matar, Shweir.com
co-founder and our honorary al Mukhtaar bil Mahjar.
In
the first shipment, I will send all seven books that are designated to the
Primary or Elementary school and the first box containing seven books that are
designated to the High School. This
is like a test run. If all work ok
(mail delivery, customs), then I will ship the other box of the other seven
books as soon as I hear from you that you received the first shipment. I sent an
email to Habib Moujaes, which contains photos of the books, so that you will see
and account for what is being shipped.
If
you may note from Shweir.com that around New Year, Shweir.com adopted New
Year’s Resolutions which include: One
Open House, 10 Computers, 100 books towards a new library and 1000 trees to be
planted, 2000 Flower Plants and 2001 meter hiking trail.
We
are very pleased with the success of the Computer drive and with these books, we
are 25% there towards 100 books goal for this year.
We
are hoping to find a suitable space close to the Saha to host an Open House
where Shweir.com can set up some computers staffed by volunteers to demonstrate
how to use and access the information from the web, conduct workshops about
using the internet, build and post charts of family trees. People can come in,
Al Mughtaribeen can stop by for a cup of coffee, check their emails, post
messages and leave notes to rendezvous with their friends.
Before
I learned about computers and the internet, it was quite a bit of mystery on how
to use it and its potential. I was
surprised on how easy it is to learn and utilize it in many creative ways.
Let me give you an example: It
took us a few months to coordinate our efforts and raise the funds for the
computers. When the opportunity for
the wheelchairs (WC) came up, I sent some update information about the
opportunity to George Matar and a few key people of the team at Shweir.com.
Immediately after George opened it, he sent the information to all
Shweirieh on his list. Within 24
hours, early Monday 6:30 a.m., we had commitments to sponsor 11 WC’s, by 8:00
a.m. it was 17 and before noon, we had commitments for 23 WC’s.
That is the Shweiry spirit. Now, we do not know if LAA and Wheelchair
Foundation can allocate that many chairs to one small town while many larger
organizations are getting 3 up to 5 five wheelchairs. They sure were pleasantly surprised with our enthusiasm,
cooperative spirit and success story.
The
key to greater success is good and clear communication. We bil Mahjar learned many good lessons, some the hard way.
We would like to share as much of that knowledge with the younger
generation in Shweir because they are Shweir’s hope for the future.
I left Shweir Secondary School when I was 12 years old.
During these years, I established a special friendship and bond with many
good friends that lasted decades and spanned oceans.
I remember how exciting it was for us young kids when there was something
new, or we were given a challenging assignment, or we had a special guest and
learned something new from them.
Many
of us have been planning for many months and even years to prepare to go to
Shweir to spend a week or a month. I
have not been to Lebanon in 30 years. There
are many things that we look forward to doing when we visit this summer
including: community volunteer
work, plant flowers and trees, conduct workshops to some of your gifted
students, discuss with them what we know about some of the popular computer
software programs and perhaps open some windows of opportunities that may be
available bil Mahjar. If we know
what type of computer programs you have, then we know what other programs we can
bring and books that are complementary.
It is possible that after a few hours of computer
instructions, your select students can volunteer to be part of the welcoming
committee or take information about the Mughtaribeen who stop at the Open House
or create and design family trees or web pages. The list is endless. I
will not be surprised that within a year, they would know programs that they
could teach to us. However,
we cannot do it from overseas. We
need some responsible people in Shweir to mobilize and sponsor/coordinate them
with us. For any event to be
successful, it takes community involvement and planning.
As principals, you play a key role. You know the teachers, students and their families.
In order for these opportunities to be successful, we need to have good
communication with key people in Shweir who can work with us.
We are hoping that you can be instrumental in facilitating the process
for us especially that now we have established a line of communication with you. Who would you enlist or recommend?
If you wish to send a letter to thank LAA for donating
the books, their address is as follows: President
and Board of Directors, Lebanese American Association, P. O. Box 4464,
Burlingame, CA 94010 USA you
can send me a copy or send the letter to me at the above address and I will
deliver it to them since I will become a member of the LAA Board at their next
meeting.
I trust that you, your teachers and students will enjoy
the enclosed books. We look forward
to a mutually rewarding relationship. Sincerely,
Anwar George Kenicer
For Shweir.com Team
Cc: Shweir.com
**************************************
From: George Matar
Date: April
24, 2001
Dear
Mss. Khalifeh, Sawaya and Moujaes,
It
has been a few months since we were able to raise the funds to purchase the
computers for the schools. This is
really a historic event for our beloved town because for the first time an event
has unified Shweirieh across the Globe.
We were able to receive donation from four different continents:
Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America.
No need to count the countries, there were plenty.
This
Month the Lebanese American Association (LAA), at a request by Anwar Shaya
Kenicer are donating Books that will be very helpful in training Students on
several subject associated with the computer and internet.
Some of the titles do not seem to be complementary example "Internet
for Dummies". Don't let the
tittles discourage you these series of books are very efficient
and designed to teach in simple and easy to follow steps.
They are very popular worldwide.
On
Behalf of all the Mughtaribeen and especially all those that extended their
generous hands for the purchase of the computers.
Shweir.com in association with LAA are offering these books as a gift to
compliment and enrich the Shweir Elementary and High Schools computer Libraries
hoping that they will be put to good and full use.
Mukhtar
Bil Mahjar
George Matar
Ps I highly recommend for you to
write and thank LAA for their generous contribution.
LAA is also helping with the contribution of the Wheelchair for the
village. We should be grateful and
appreciative for their efforts.
First Computers for Shweir Hi-School
********************
Excerpt from the Bulletin Board: Letter from the New Shweir High School Principal, Sabah Moujaes
| Author | Topic: Thank you letter from The Schools |
| George
Matar Administrator |
posted
03-27-2001 07:52 AM
I received this thank you note from Miss Sabah Moujaes, Acting principle of the Shweir High School. It is a note for all of you Shweirieh. You are Welcome Miss Moujaes. DEAR SHWEIRIEH BIL MAHJAR MISS SABAH MOUJAES IP: Logged |
| George
Matar Administrator |
posted
03-29-2001 07:48 AM
Miss Moujaes Thank you for your letter, it means a whole lot for all of us in the
Mahjar to hear news, any news, from the village. |
2-24-2001
Additional Contributors to the Computer
Fund are:
Samir & Linda Arnaout, Sami
Andre Khonaysser & Saad & George Hawi
As Al Mukhtaar pointed out,
since we achieved our computer objective,
we will use the additional funds as the "Khameereh" in the Shweir Fund
for future projects.
Computer
Update as of Feb 19, 2001
Copy of an e-mail from our man in Shweir... Habib Moujaes sent on February 19, 2001
Dear George
" It's not over till the Fat Lady Sings "
Well today at 1:30 pm local she did finally sing..
I want to share with all of you the joy and thankfulness every one in both the Shweir Elementary and High School expressed upon the installation of both computer Labs... In the High School he have installed the additional 4 computers, three of which went to the Lab + Printer, and One +printer +scanner was installed in the Administration room. As for the Primary school, since they lacked the secured classroom for a computer Lab. we installed both computers and printer in the school principal's office for the time being.
Both principals expressed their deep gratitude to all the Shweirieh who helped in this project.
On Friday 16th the hi-school parent association along with the Friends of the school committee had a fundraising dinner in which the president of the association publicly announced the donation and thanked in the name of all parents and students the Shweirieh who donated to this drive.
I had made a small leaflet describing the project and included the list of contributors. (also attached) this was distributed to the various tables at the dinner. George I wish you and all those who care and contributed were all here to share the great joy that I felt upon the completion of this project and the effect it had on our grateful community.
It is indeed small endeavors like this, and the feeling of closeness between our immigrants and our home folks that make you proud to be a Shweir..
God bless you all.
Habib
 |
 |
 |
 |
On behalf of the Shweirieh bil Mahjar, thank you Habib for your extra ordinary effort in your administrative, resourceful, diplomatic, accounting, communicative, photographic and leadership abilities. A large part of the success of this project is because of your taking bold steps in a very positive direction for a worthwhile cause.
Congratulations to the school principals and our best wishes to the students who will be using the computers. Use them wisely.
The Team at Shweir.com
Shweir Hi Computer Update: Posted Feb 8, 2001
We Surpassed our projection,
thanks to you for making this worthy effort a great success.
See details on Shweir News web page
Copy of an e-mail from our al Mukhtaar bil Mahjar sent on Feb 6, 2001
Sabah Il Kheir Ya Nass (Translation, Good Morning People)
You all are anticipating this email. Collectively we have done extremely well. Now we can relax a bit and wait for the news from Dhour.
Oh, I would like to thank Sam Arnaout for his contribution. Sam is a friend who has been visiting Shweir.com and felt he should help. We are expecting Sam and his wonderful family at our Shweir on the beach 2001. Make sure you meet them and make him feel as one of our own, he will be traveling all the way from the Dallas area. Sam, we're expecting you. By the way, due to the timing (money was already transferred), his will be the initial contribution for the next fund. Thank you Sam.
Back to our Subject, here is a summary of the collections:
* From the USA, Canada, and New Zealand: We received $1,940 included donations from Canada and New Zealand the money was wired last week, the cost was $40.
* Dhour Shweir: Habib has Two new Computers (Equivalent of $500) and $150 (we know $100 was on its way, Habib to confirm it). Once received Habib will have approximately $650.
* Saudia: $500 plus a commitment to help pay for monthly internet access
* Habib will recover part of the initial computer fund. He will update us with what got bought and the final overall cost of this worthwhile project..... Habib please invest part of the money to buy a small plaque (1inch x 3inch) for the people that donated the equivalent of one computer. Especially for those "In Memory of ", See bolded names below. Don't forget the pictures.
This is your proof that there is one Shweir across the Globe (Four Continents on this drive). Catch the rest on the next one.
Xxxxxxx's from your Mukhtar Bil Mahjar
George E. Matar
The contributors for the Computer Fund
are:
* Note: One Computer is equivalent to $250
| Dhour Shweir: Habib K. Moujaes (one Computers)* Aayat Moujaes (one computer)* Meric Moujaes (one Computer)* Canada France New
Zealand Ivory
Coast Saudia
Arabia The Saudia Group pledged to pay
for |
USA Hilda Touma Sawaya Shurbaji Nabil Elias Matar George & Janice Matar Waleed Shehadeh Moujaes Anwar George Kenicer Salim & Mary Bou-Chebl Alfred Gibrael Moujaes Iliya & Elsa Harik Elie BouKheir (One Computer)* in Memory of Lili Bou Kheir Elie Yared Sameeh & Dolly Baaklini Fouad Tabsharani Hana (Rustom) and John Archbold Chris Alfred Moujaes Toufic Baaklini Nada Nassar Habib & Cathy Nacol Michael E. Mirhej Jamil & Sally Bou-Saab (one Computer)* in Memory of Laila Bou Saab Mounir Moujaes George Baaklini Samir & Linda Arnaout Saad & George Hawi |
 |
Ps: Hana Rustom Archbold would like to (additionally) donate a gently used but still very good computer to the school. Anybody can suggest a cheap way to get it to Shweir, please contact Hana directly at harchbold@ceon.com <mailto:harchbold@ceon.com>
********************
(This is an email that was sent by our al Mukhtaar bil Mahjar on January 24, 2001. It is a little long but worth every line)
Dear Shweiryieh and friends of Shweir.com... "SHOOKRUN"
Inflate your chest people and go ahead and brag..... WE DID IT, PLUS and there's even more.
We all should be proud of this united effort to help propel our future Shweiry generation into the computer age. May this effort open so many opportunities for them. May they always remember this unity so they can do the same when their time comes.
On behalf of Shweir.com and the Shweir Fund, we want to thank our contributors again who has supported this effective mission. Clear mission to help our town. The funds as they stand right now:
* In the USA: We received $1,940 included donations from Canada and New
Zealand
* In Dhour Habib has Two new Computers (Equivalent of $500) and $50 ( Another
$100 is on its way).
* From Saudia: A commitment to send directly to Habib $500 plus a commitment to
help pay for monthly internet access (Is this great or What?)
Mike Sawaya Please send us the names of the other Shweirieh so we can include them on the final list. The Whole Package as it stands Today is estimated at $3,090...And we Should Never Forget the initial purchase of the four Computers by Habib K. Moujaes $975 ...Kinda makes you proud to be a Shweiry Huh?
Habib, the ball is in your court:
* First of all my good man, you are entitled to a fair share of the money to
recover some of your initial contribution if you wish to do so.
* Second, tell us where to transfer the money.
* Third, of course we will be waiting anxiously for the follow up story with
pictures, and what equipment got bought etc...
* Habib, Let's make sure that the computers donated by a person or "in
memory of" do have a small plaque with the person's name (see bolded names
below).
Habib we all are counting on you to spend the money wisely, have a good balance between computers, printers, surge protectors, at least one scanner, and an internet connection, and of course locks.
We are Banking on the school / students to reciprocate by starting a weekly or monthly newsletter to keep us updated And some kind of an activity to help the town. One Idea: Every Senior class will design and plant a designated area in or around town leaving a plaque with the Names of the seniors and the year they graduate. That way they leave their unique mark in town and help re-beautify Dhour Shweir.....Good? I bet there are thousands of idea like it. Do let us know.
As you are aware that we are starting the Shweir Fund to help finance strategic projects, like the computer fund. Therefore Any Additional Money received past today will be the "khmeiri" for our next town project. The new names will be listed separately with total amount received. In case you want to help this fund, please make your check payable to Elie Bou Kheir and mail it to him at:
Elie Bou Kheir
23738 Indian Hills Way
Katy Texas, 77494, USA.
*******************************************
Excerpt from an e-mail:
Dear George and the rest of the Shweirieh
I won't make a long speech like Our mukhtar George, he said all there need to be said on this issue. However I cannot help but to thank all those who contributed to this project and for those who didn't we have other projects lining up.
We will not spare you!! ... As we get the Computer Lab set up I will be posting some pictures and updates on this event. For those of you who have extra money laying around and would like to share in building the fund for future projects you can send your contribution to Elie the US. Here in Lebanon you can send them to moi at the following:
Habib K. Moujaes,
Societe Generale Libano Europeene de banque
Dhour Choueir branch, Habib Moujaes (fincorp)
Acc# 014 004 360 121993 01 5, Swift SGLI LBBX
Thank you,
Habib
Habib Moujaes
General Manager
Fincorp Engineering
fincopr@beirut.com
Shweirieh in Saudia Donate $500 + One year internet access for Shweir High School
Excerpts from e-mails received on January 31, 2001
Subject: RE: Computer Fund Great News
Dear International Mukhtar & Shweireh,
Reference to our commitment from Shweirieh in Saudia to fulfill the coverage of the remaining $500 for the computer fund plus a year internet coverage.
Please note the following donators that
contributed with open hearts:
Mikhael Samaha (Khobar), Roustom Moujaes (Khobar), Aziz Kurban (Khobar),
Mike Sawaya (Khobar), Beshar Abou Nakhla (Jeddah) and Nadim Sawaya
(Riyadh).
This is just a humble contribution from us in Saudi Arabia, Hoping to invest on more futuristic projects that will lead to the welfare of our wonderful town & its people & the returning of all its beloved International Shweirieh. Best Luck
Michael Najib Sawaya
AtosOrigin Middle East
8875111 x-405
Khobar, Saudi Arabia
www.atosorigin.com
*******************************************
Mike, Mikhael, Roustom Aziz, Beshara and Nadim,
Thank you all for this generous contribution, I know you had to deprive your families of something essential to be able to do this. We all know what a worthwhile fund this is and we definitely can see the potential it will bring.
Thank you guys a whole lot, and could one of you pass this to Roustom, I could not find his email address with the rest of yours.
Until we all meet, yours truly
George Matar
*******************************************
Dear Mike and all the Shweirieh in Saudi Arabia,
You done a magnificent job, God bless you all, Hayk Ykoono Al Shweirieh Wul'la Bala. Our beloved town needs Shweirieh like you. Shweirieh who are willing to do any thing necessary to improve the life of our home town young ones and give them the chance to excel. Our Shweir always produced great individuals. Let's all help to keep this great tradition alive.
Mike, I look forward to meet you this summer my friend, Your dad Al Mukhtar is a good friend. Please give him my regards.
Nabil Matar
As of Jan 15, 2001, we raised over $1,320 in
contributions. In addition, we acknowledge a generous
contribution from the family of Dr. Salim K. Mujais for two computers
which are equivalent to $500. One computer on behalf of Ayat and
the other on behalf of Meric Mujais. As such, we are close to two
third of our objective. Ayat and Meric, you are setting a great
example. May we name these computers in your honor?
This gives us an excellent idea: Any one who contributes $250 will name a
computer in their honor. We need a minimum of five more
contributors. Any additional contributions will go to the newly
established "Shweir Fund". Your generous contributions
would be greatly appreciated. Let's see how quickly we can achieve
our goal.
Excerpts of an email message from our al Mukhtaar:
Dear Shweiryieh and friends of Shweir.com,
We Shweir Fund want to thank our contributors again who continue to support this effective mission. Clear mission to help our town. ... ... ... We can achieve this goal soon. We are also hoping that the Shweirieh in Europe and Gulf States will join in.
If you have mailed your contribution, your name will most likely appear on the next update. We will not send the funds to Shweir until the fourth week of January. YOU STILL HAVE TIME to be included, please act soon. Until we finalize the tax formalities, please make your check payable to Elie Bou Kheir and mail it him at: 23738 Indian Hills Way, Katy Texas, 77494, USA. If you are in Lebanon or the Middle East, please send your donation to Habib Moujaes in Dhour.
**********************
This
is a classic example of the Power of an Idea & the Power of
a Team
It all started as an effort to communicate with the officials of
the Baladieh... Since there was no response, our Al Mukhtaar bil Mahjar, George
Matar, assumed that the Baladieh had no computer. He sent a message
into cyber space for Shweirieh to donate their experienced computers. In the
process, we found out that Shweir Hi-School had no computers!!! Fr.
Dcn. Ihsan Bousauder in New Zealand had a dozen in his
garage donated by his rotary club. Others from different parts of the
world began to set aside some. However the cost of shipping, uncertainty
of customs costs and compatibility concerns made this effort unfeasible.
In the mean time, our new team member on location in Shweir, Habib Moujaes,
sprang into action, bought four (4) computers and presented them to Shweir
Hi-School principal Mary Sawaya. It is
long overdue that Shweir Hi-school students get computers. They need at
least 4-8 additional computers to make it worthwhile to teach a class. At this
time of sharing we are hoping to raise enough funds to buy and present these
computers to Shweir Hi-School by year end.
Excerpts from emails...
Just a note to share with you the presentation of the 4 computers to the school. The pictures show a general view of the hi school, installation by the technicians, A happy school principal miss Mary Sawaya, and one of miss Mary and myself.
The computers are Pentium I series (120-160 Mhz) with HDD and CD ROM. A computer course is scheduled to begin this week.... The total cost of the four computers is $975. The school will start a full program after the holidays but for now they started with a limited no of student as a short pilot program.
It would be great if we can initiate a "fast" drive to collect another $1000 so we can buy four more so they would at least have eight computers. (Their classrooms contain 30 students!!)... For this project let's jump start a fast drive to buy 4 or 8 more computers.. the paperwork for nonprofit or the rotary will take several month.. but if we push everybody to pitch in ($20-$50) we can have a hell of a program started... In the mean time we can set up the non-profit org. and set up a liaison with the rotary.
George, I think we need a thermometer (for Fund collection) posted on the WebPages with the donation level (in red) for this project. and let's shoot for 31/12/2000 as the dead line.. what do you think? (see attachments) ...awaiting your comments
Habib
 Shweir Hi |
 Technicians installing computers |
 Mary Sawaya, a Happy Principal |
To Miss Mary Sawaya and Shweir Hi Students: On behalf of the Shweirieh bil Mahjar, and the team at Shweir.com, we send to you and your students our sincere congratulations. We trust that this will be the beginning of a mutually rewarding relationship. As some of you may have read in the memories section, our fondest memories were those in our beautiful Shweir School. Years from now, you will look back and most likely feel similarly about your school. It is these childhood memories that bonds us together even though we are scattered around the world. The school is the foundation and the heart of especially a small community like Shweir. We are very interested in the success and well being of Shweir Hi and its students... our future generation... our future leaders. At the least, we should provide them with a fair playing field in the race towards this global Information Technology (IT) and a competitive edge where possible. Right now, you and us will have to try a bit harder to help you catch up to what you have been missing for the past few years. Are we up to the challenge?
Habib Moujaes, on behalf of the Shweirieh bil Mahjar, and the team at Shweir.com, we send to you our gratitude and our sincere thanks for introducing the first four (4) computers to Shweir Hi-School. We are impressed that you were able to buy four computers for only $975. How did you negotiate that? This is a perfect example of how to spend our resources wisely. "Shoo Aolak Iza shtarainah bil dazzeeneh min waffer aktar"? kidding aside... thank you for your initiative, creative and innovative approach. Also thank you for the thermometer "gage". I almost forgot... here it is...
Anwar, aka webmaster
Habib, the pictures really describe the story well, Miss Mary looks so Happy, and You Look Good Too, I haven't seen you for a long time, I am so glad you were in the pictures. In the nutshell, The $975 compared to the joy and happiness as well as the investment in the future Generation is considered a great and outstanding bargain.
Anwar and I were discussing one day how we are going to let everyone know how fast we are approaching our financial goals, and guess what........Great minds think alike. Your thermometer Idea is, again, Great.
The Story on the Web: I know Anwar at the moment is super busy trying to open his new office. I for one support him if he could not do any work on the Site until he gets his business up and running. We do need the story to compliment the pictures, and we are very tight on time if we are to try to collect the contributions by the end of the year.
Here are some important, tiny, facts that I want to share with you. I have been noticing lately, that the responses we are getting are declining, whether on the Web site or simply answering my email. The optimistic reason is: Because this is the time of the year when everybody is getting supersaturated with end of the year work, taking time to buy Christmas gifts, decorating the home, company parties, attending kids school musicals, (daughter's graduation, in my case), planning travel trips. Are you getting the picture? Checking the web site is the least thing on their priority list. Why is this important? It is because we are trying reach our people in a way that, temporarily, is unreliable.
The not so optimistic reason, maybe they are losing interest or don't care, Let us pray that's not the case. I just hope that we have gained the confidence of our people to trust us with their money. Please keep your expectations close to the ground, because many of the people we will be contacting are young with limited funds. Add the fact that at this time of the year is when their savings will be depleted due to additional expenses that are inherent to this Holly Month.
Also remember that during this month the global mail experience super heavy traffic therefore it will potentially run slow and some contribution may not reach its destination on time.
I am going to be slightly biased by saying the mail in the US is more reliable (don't shoot) so I think at least one volunteer in the States to collect the money then do a wire transfer to Habib. Habib could be the second volunteer if he so chooses.
I am going to start working on the email, hopefully today. Stay tune and Felix Navidad Ya'll
George Matar
Funds Raised for Shweir Hi Computers as of January 15, 2001: $1320 plus
two computers from the Salim K. Mujais family worth $500.
Below is a list of Contributors:
| This week:
Toufic Baaklini Nada Nassar Aayat S. Moujaes (1 Computer) Meric S. Moujaes (1 Computer) Habib & Cathy Nacol Habib Halabi
|
Elie Yared
Hana Archbold Fouad Tibsherani Sameeh Baaklini Wajih & Lamia Sawaya The Chris Moujaes Company Salim Bou Chebl Hicham & Youmna Dagher Ilia Harik
|
Anwar George Kenicer
George Matar Nabil Matar Alfred Moujaes Walid Moujaes Hilda Touma Sawaya Elie Bou Kheir Habib Moujaes
|
Thanks to all who contributed,
Elie Bou Kheir,
Treasurer of Shweir Fund
December 2000
An Email "Newsletter" from George Matar Posted 12-1-2000
Marhaba Ya Ahalee Dhour wo Shweir
I hope you all had a great and prosperous year and saved enough money to buy gifts for your loved ones in the next 3 weeks. For the young Generation I say: You have studied hard and well, your good grades along with your love and respect are your gifts to your parents. That's all they ask for.
For the not so Young that have worked hard and sacrificed all year long I say: Don't forget the reason why you have put all these long hours day after day, It Is Your Family. So, take this Holly Month to rejuvenate the love you share with them.
I was hoping to use the shweir.com newsletter to send my updates but alas many of you have been so busy that you forgot to sign up for it. Allah Ya teekum al aafyeh maybe we'll use the Newsletter next month. If you have been a regular visitor to the Web site you will notice that November has been relatively a quite month But here a summary of what has been happening:
* We received From Rosalie Sawaya Khoury (Brazil) the book about Shweir published in 1922. Hilda Touma Sawaya has done an outstanding job translating several sections from it. The most impressing thing I noticed is the success they had in promoting the Town. We definitely can learn from them on how to revitalize Dhour Shweir.
* We have about twelve new guests that have registered in the guestbook. Rabih Khoury is working on ways to be able to file the names in alphabetical order so we can use the section as a directory, Signing for the newsletter would help Rabih tremendously. Just for your information I have more names on my email list than we have in either section. Take this as a hint, if my computer gets zapped by a nasty virus, I could lose contact with a lot of you, and you sure will miss me.
* The page has been upgraded to make it easier to Navigate, new sections were also added.
* Now, you can use the page to send cards on special occasions, thank you Rabih Khoury.
* We are about 2 weeks from submitting application for a "Not for profit organization" to help establish tax deductible contribution to help the town. Stay tuned on this one.
* The Big Story Last month we thought that we will be able to send "10 Available" computers for the Baladieh, volunteer organization and the school. The feedback from the town's folks indicated that the school will benefit the most from the computers. Somehow the word got out and the school presumed that they were promised the computers. A couple of weeks ago the deal fell through once we found out the cost of the shipping and handling and making the computers compatible is more than buying new computers. Needless to say, the school was very disappointed. Wait the story does have a happy ending..... Habib Khalil Moujaes, our man on the spot, feeling that the relationship between the towns folks and the mughtaribeen must not suffer took the initiative and bought 4 brand new computers that will be installed at the school "AT THE SAME TIME YOU ARE READING THIS MESSAGE". These computers will be used by our nephews, nieces, cousins or their children, Great Christmas gift for a great cause. Efforts like this are deeply appreciated and surely must be commended. Thank you Habib. We will publish the whole story with details and pictures on the web soon.
Note from the Mukhtar: Although Habib did not ask for help on this donation, I am hoping that several of us will be able to contribute and collect some money to help him once we know the amount spent. We will wait until we establish the organization so you can claim the deductions and we can tell you where to send the money. For future fund raiser, I promise that we will collect the contributions prior to committing to any amount we contribute to the betterment of the town.
So For now, I wish you all a glorious Christmas and the best of times for you and your family. Do enjoy your time with them whether you are decorating the house or shopping for gifts. And Remember to send us some picture of your family during the Holidays. Shweir.com would love to assign a section showing Christmas 2000 family pictures from all across the Globe. That should be our small Gift to each other that we can share and enjoy together. Think of it as a substitute for a gathering at the SAHA.
Can you do that by the end of January?
Your Mukhtar Bil Mahjar
George Matar
Posted by Roula Halabi on August 04, 2000 at 12:33:25:
Once again hello to all shweirieh. There is one thing that I would like to point out as I was reading through the memories page and definitely it brought some memories to me of shweir secondary school. it is true that at the time I attended that school it was during the war time but thanks to ms. mary sawaya a very admirable person the school was reopened and she did her best to get us the best teachers and make a good studying enviroment for us. unfortunately and this is what I heard three years ago that the school was taken away from our students , I don't know if that is still trure, I hope not.
I wish to everybody a happy eid al moughtarebeen and a special message on this special occasion and I wish if someone in shweir if you read this message, me and on behalf all shweirieh all over the world would love to deliver a message saying give us our school back , we deserve it.
Roula Halabi, San Jose, California, USA
•
posted 11-19-2002
05:04 AM 
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
for the renovation
of the floor space in the large conference room to be used temporarly by
the public library.
