Beirut – February 20, 2019: touch, the leading mobile telecommunications and data operator in Lebanon, managed by Zain Group, announced its partnership renewal with Bassma Association after the outstanding success of the Night School Program, in which 95% of students passed their 2017/2018 academic year.
touch is extending the partnership for a second phase in the 2018/2019 academic year, directly benefiting 60 public school students in the 7th, 8th and 9th grades. Participating students come from underprivileged families and face learning difficulties at school.
The Night School Program offers courses in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, French and Arabic. The program aims to ensure a secure environment in which students can achieve academic progress, develop new skills and capacities, and bridge any learning deficiencies. The program is also focused on making sure students succeed in their academic year and official exams (Brevet).
Commenting on the partnership renewal, Emre Gurkan, Chief Executive Officer of touch said, “touch’s partnership with Bassma is well-aligned with our own corporate sustainability program, Positive touch, which has a keen focus on youth and educational development. Supporting Bassma to help underprivileged children successfully complete their academic year, transform their lives, and have them gain confidence is a mandate we happily and proudly sign up to.”
Bassma’s President Sandra Klat Abdelnour said: “Never say a child is unable to learn and succeed. Give him/her a safe, healthy and warm environment to learn in, the right tools, pedagogical teachers, and they will do miracles! Thanks to the precious support and involvement of touch we have been able to witness these miracles, as hopeless case students enrolled in Bassma’s night school all succeeded at the end of their academic year, after only six months of intensive courses. Therefore, all children are able to learn and succeed; they only need the opportunity to do so”.
This initiative falls under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) number 4, which focuses on quality education, and comes in line with touch’s corporate sustainability program “Positive touch”.
Established in 2002, Bassma Association is a non-profit humanitarian organization for social development based in Lebanon. Its mission is to empower the most deprived families to reach self-sufficiency. In addition to courses, Bassma also provides transportation, learning material, meals and psychological follow up.
About touch
touch is the leading mobile operator in Lebanon, managed by Zain Group, the pioneering mobile and data services operator in the Middle East and Africa. In the last thirteen years of operations under Zain’s management, touch has had many success stories, providing cutting-edge services and technology to its consumers.
Drawing from Zain’s regional expertise providing telecommunication and mobile data services to 50 million users, touch has devised and adopted a consumer-centric strategy. touch’s range of services and its 3.9G and 4.5G coverage of all Lebanese territories has allowed it to gain a 54% wireless telecommunication market share in Lebanon. touch employs specialized and competent Lebanese personnel that aims to provide the latest in telecommunication services and products to the local community to help it grow in a more sustainable way.
touch, with the backing of Zain and its cooperation with the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications, dedicates all its resources to keeping up with the latest in telecom and mobile data. It offers a 24/7 call center service to cater to the need of its customers for uninterrupted connection.
touch values the local community, perceiving it as a major partner; its mission and vision reflect a dedication to humanitarian, social, and cultural causes, as well as creativity and innovation, which it considers integral to advancing its social responsibility program.
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