An unwavering commitment to the most vulnerable

Our story

Libami's very first case, during the civil war, was a man badly wounded by a landmine, left unable to walk, with six young daughters depending on him and no income of his own. His family could no longer survive on their own, so Nohad Azzi and Père Francis Leduc arranged to send them monthly support. It was this first act of solidarity that led them, in 1987, to found Libami — a "hive of tenderness" — to answer the wider urgency of a people exhausted by poverty, displacement, war and fear.

Père Francis Leduc was a French missionary priest of the White Fathers (Missionaries of Africa); Mrs Nohad Azzi is Libami's co-founder and current president. United by faith and by a shared desire to serve the most fragile, they built the association together. Since that first mission our commitment has never wavered.

Père Francis Leduc passed away on 9 December 2022, leaving behind him a legacy marked by love, service and faithfulness to the poorest. The Lebanese Government officially recognized Libami in 1995 (Decision No. 195/AD, amending Decree-Law No. 76/AD). Libami is a non-profit, non-denominational and apolitical association, with a deeply human mission: to accompany vulnerable families with respect, dignity and tenderness.

Over the years the association has grown around essential values: solidarity, faith and compassion. Every child deserves a dignified future, whatever their circumstances. Libami works for the protection of children, supports their schooling, watches over their psycho-social and medical development, and responds to their family's most basic everyday needs.

Economic and social instability keeps deepening family hardship, and the war in Southern Lebanon has added to the distress of families who were already fragile. In response, Libami has strengthened its efforts so that every child can go to school and every family gets the support it needs.