On the occasion of the US Independence Day, the US Embassy in Lebanon and the LMTA organized a Community Service Event on Section 10 of the LMT, near the village of Chatine in the caza of Batroun. The event was attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly, 20 US embassy staff, members from the American Friends of the LMT, as well as 40 Lebanese high school students from Qalamoun, Dedde and Btorram (in north Lebanon). These students are from the English Access Microscholarship Program. The LMT Association mobilized five volunteers for this event including Karim El-Jisr (President), Christian Akhrass (Field Coordinator), Ramiz Lotfi (Member), Joseph Lteif (Member) and Iskandar Tohme (Member). This fun-filled event consisted of clearing brush and shrubs along a two-km path as well as removing trash and litter on both sides of the trail. After a brief welcome by US embassy staff and LMTA, the volunteers were split into three groups and handed over the tools and gloves for the work ahead. After several hours of hard work, the group then proceeded to a picturesque restaurant in Tannourine al Tahta for a delicious meal, courtesy of Mr. Mounir Tarabay, the mayor of Tannourine. At the restaurant, Karim handed a complimentary copy of the book “A Million Steps – Discovering the Lebanon Mountrail Trail” to Madam the Ambassador Connelly and students received Volunteer Certificates as well as an Arabic-English glossary of terms on trails and the environment.
Community Service with the US Embassy
