Sports city and university in Ansar

The Lebanese Welfare Association for the Handicapped (LWAH) will open a new sports city and university in Ansar, South Lebanon, in late 2014.

The sports city will provide social, health, cultural, and artistic activities for handicapped people. Hassan Hamdan, Member of the Administrative Committee at LWAH, said: “The city will be an awareness and entertainment center for them, rather than a treatment center.”

The project was funded by a grant from Qatar, which also appointed the project contractors.

The overall space of the city reaches 30 donums (30,000 m2). It will comprise three buildings with a total built-up area of 15,000 m2.

The first building includes two floors that are dedicated for management, as well as a theatre that can host 350 persons. It also encompasses an electronic library, conference halls, and rooms for teaching art, photography, sculpture, and music, as well as two restaurants.

Hamdan said that several awareness sessions will be conducted related to women’s empowerment, children’s rights, as well as drugs and smoking risks. Health awareness sessions will also be conducted for cancer, diabetes, and heart and vascular diseases. There will also be book and antiquities exhibitions, in addition to continuous computer sessions.

The second building consists of three floors, and comprises a large playground for several sports activities that can host 1,000 seats. It will also encompass clubs, restaurants, and a section for reporters. Hamdan said: “The two buildings are equipped for handicapped use.”

The third floor includes an Olympic-sized closed swimming pool appropriate for handicapped use also, in addition to sports clubs, showrooms, and two restaurants.

LWAH dedicated additional 50 donums (50,000 m2) adjacent to the sport city for developing artistic and economic activities for the handicapped. It will provide them with training sessions for beekeeping, as well as gardening, and a workshop for wheelchairs, among other activities.

The sports city is expected to create about 35 jobs. Hamdan said that the employees will all be handicapped.

LWAH also aims to open a new university dubbed ‘Phoenicia’. It will comprise six faculties.