Break the Silence: Advancing sexual health
Campaign successfully funded on: 02 Nov,2015
This project has been successfully funded with $5,760 (115%)
Growing up in Lebanon, we did not receive sexual education in school, and university education did not add much in that field. Even in medical school, the topic appeared to be as much of a taboo to be studied as it is a taboo to be discussed in a positive way in the society. Going through residency training, we were not allowed to give educational seminars about the health of sexual minorities.
Lebanon has come a long way since then, but there still is much needed. Research on sexual health is not popular and when executed, it is poorly funded.
LebMASH launched the BTS (Break The Silence) grant 3 years ago and since then it has been self funded by the executive board. This year LebMASH's funds have been stretched thin especially with embarking on new projects like the workshop on sexual and LGBT health offered to LeMSIC medical students in Broummanna in March 2015. To ensure the sustainability of BTS student grants we are turning to you because regular granting organizations do not seem to be interested in funding such activity and we do not want to modify our projects to fit their agendas.
Over the past three years, LebMASH has sponsored three students to attend conferences in San Francisco, Denver and Baltimore. Each time we paid 1,500 USD in return to receipts that often exceeded this amount. We hope to cover the plane ticket, the hotel stay for the length of the conference (usually 4 nights) and per diem. We set our goal at 5000 USD to cover the coming three years BTS 2015, 2016 and 2017. And if by 2018 we do not find a funder, we will turn to you again.
Your support will change the status quo by ensuring our future health care providers and educators are knowledgeable about and comfortable discussing sexual health.
The feedback from BTS alumni has been overwhelmingly positive. They brought back home new perspectives and knowledge. And the networking opportunities enriched their career paths.
04 Nov,2015
Our Zoomaal Campaign just ended and you, with 56 other contributors, helped us raise $5,760, achieving 115% of our set goal. You have just secured funding to sustain Break The Silence (BTS) student scholarship for the coming three years.
Dr. Abdessamad saw Ahmad, BTS 2015 winner, in Portland, OR, USA last month at GLMA Annual Meeting: "I witnessed first-hand the enthusiasm he had for developing his knowledge and expertise in the area of sexual health and LGBT health, and for bringing back to Lebanon his experience to set the track in the right direction towards a more inclusive approach to healthcare and education, with no exclusion based on gender, sexual orientation or gender identity."
LebMASH is mentoring Ahmad to publish his award-winning paper titled "The Need for mental health research within the LGBT community in Lebanon" in a peer-reviewed medical journal. This is the type of locally-cultivated research and scientific literature that is significantly lacking in Lebanon and that is essential to advance healthcare for all.
Because of you, Ahmad will not be the last student who benefits from this scholarship. You are helping Lebmash start a movement of making research in this field more mainstream.
Dr. Baz: "What a pleasure to see the enthusiasm in supporting LebMASH's efforts to raise awareness about healthcare issues that are not addressed appropriately in Lebanon. Thank you for playing a part in making healthcare in Lebanon free of discrimination."
Rami Baz, MD
Hasan Abdessamad, MD FRCSC FACOG
Beirut, LebanonOur mission is to advance healthcare for LGBT individuals and sexual/reproductive health for all individuals in Lebanon. Our objectives are: 1> spreading awareness and knowledge, as well as influence attitudes and behaviors of health care providers and the public regarding…
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