Imam Sadr’s forward-looking vision led him to focus on empowering women and youth at all levels to uplift our Lebanese society. In 1969, when he decided to establish vocational institutes, beginning with a technical nursing school for girls, his foresight was evident, marking a new chapter in building a humane and civilized society.

Over time, new specializations were introduced, and vocational education options expanded, leading to the launch of Afaq Institute for Development, spearheaded by Mrs. Rabab Sadr. This comprehensive technical institute offers many specializations covering various technical fields, particularly excelling in nursing care and social animation, graduating annually cohorts of young men and women well-equipped to enter the job market with competence.Read More

Afaq Institute for Development continues to keep pace with modern advancements, aiming for comprehensiveness in its specializations to meet both the ambitions of students and the needs of the job market.

• The Nursing School
  Imam As-Sadr’s vision was realized on December 1, 1971, with the transformation of first aid courses into a technical nursing school, following the acquisition of a license to establish a private high technical school named the “Nursing School of Al-Bir Wal-Ihsan Association in Tyre”. This license granted the school permission to operate and offer specializations that qualify students for official certifications. In 1975, the first cohort of nurses graduated in the presence of Imam Sadr, marking the beginning of the school’s continuous success in official exams and achieving a 100% employment rate in hospitals in the South and the capital. This success encouraged the graduates to pursue higher education.
• Afaq Institute for Development
  In 1986, the Imam Sadr Foundation, represented by Mrs. Rabab Sadr, received a license to establish a private technical institute in Khaldeh, Aley District, named “Afaq Institute for Development”. This institute enabled students to obtain a technical baccalaureate in nursing care or certified qualifications in other specializations. In 1998, upon the request of Mrs. Rabab Sadr, the institute was relocated to the Cultural Compound in Tyre.

In 2008, Imam Sadr Foundation launched a pioneering program at the Nursing School, in collaboration with the Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC), to train professionals in the field of mental health. The program aims to develop human resources, contribute to integrating mental health services into primary healthcare centers, and provide preventive services on a broad scale. Additionally, it seeks to enhance school health programs through mental health.

The integration of this program has yielded positive results, as primary healthcare centers offer services that are close to beneficiaries, socially acceptable, low-cost, and accessible without exposing beneficiaries to social stigma.

• Train a group of professionals to identify individuals with psychological disorders, follow up with them, and refer them to mental health experts.
• Integrate mental healthcare practices and applications into primary care settings through nurses and healthcare workers.
• Develop essential communication skills to enhance relationships with beneficiaries and other partners providing similar services.
• Raise awareness about mental health concepts.
• Propose a mental health nursing care plan within a multidisciplinary team.
• Implement a referral system to secondary care services within the center or to specialized centers, based on a mapping of service distribution.

Between 2008 and 2015, the program graduated 52 students across four consecutive cohorts, from diverse backgrounds, who received certificates in nursing, psychology, physical therapy, nutrition, and social work. The program created new job opportunities in various fields for most graduates, provided them with the chance to obtain licenses for practicing as mental health professionals, and advanced them from general nurses to specialized mental health nurses who address biological, psychological, and social models.