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Our Story

Our story began in 2017 when HH Sheikha Intisar AlSabah learned that no mental health support was being offered to Arab women affected by war and violence.

 

Intisar Foundation is a private initiative born from her desire to find and implement the most effective psychological approach for alleviating trauma in these Arab women and helping them rebuild their lives in the shortest amount of time.

 

Intisar Foundation is the first charitable organisation that utilizes drama therapy with an aim to effect a long-term and systemic social change across the Arab world by truly enabling the psychological recovery and self-empowerment of Arab women traumatised by war and violence.

 

Since psychological support for women is an area that is greatly overlooked in the humanitarian sector, our bottom-up approach to providing psychological support to female survivors of war and violence, which is more closely aligned to the real needs on the ground, has been hailed as an innovation in the field of Peacebuilding.

A message from our founder

“Learning that no psychological support was being offered to Arab women affected by war and violence has ignited a sense of profound responsibility in me to provide them mental health tools to emerge victorious from their trauma.

 

In adopting a healing combination of theatre and psychology, Intisar Foundation has developed a path-breaking solution to rescuing these women from the clutches of unresolved trauma. Furthermore, drama therapy has showed us how to empower them to realise many personal and social changes.

 

Today, a testament to our long-term commitment to ensuring and sustaining psychological improvement for the most vulnerable Arab women is our initiative to heal #OneMillionArabWomen For Peace from the psychological trauma of war and violence by 2050.

 

In support of our main mission, we also encourage excellence in the drama therapy education and research and development fields in the Arab world. We aim to foster a generation of female Arab drama therapists, while the rising scientific activity of our local drama therapists and researchers, who are familiar with the language and nuances of Arab culture, is expected significantly to contribute to the field of drama therapy in the region and worldwide.

 

I believe that our ambitious reforms, undertaken by Arab women for Arab women, are intrinsic to building a Peaceful future for the Arab world.”

 

HH Sheikha Intisar AlSabah

Founder and Chairwoman

Intisar Foundation

Our Victorious Logo

Our logo stands for the victory of Arab women… and does so with impact!

The Intisar Foundation logo and name – Intisar means ‘victory’ in Arabic – convey our commitment to transforming Arab women traumatised by war and violence into the most victorious versions of themselves “and Agents of Peace”.

 

Our logo entails a story of drama therapy setting forth our woman on a journey of rebuilding her life – from being bent under a heavy burden of ill health, fear, self-doubt, internalised shame, and a limited outlook on life, our woman starts standing tall, speaking with a confident voice, and acting with courage to bring her family, community, and country back to a dignified life.

Meet the Team

HH Sheikha Intisar AlSabah

HH Sheikha Intisar AlSabah

The Founder

Karima Anbar

Ms. Karima Anbar

CEO and Board Member

Abdul Muneeb

Mr. Abdul Muneeb

Financial Advisor and Board Member

H.E. Christian Nakhlé

H.E. Christian Nakhlé

International Advisor & Board Member

Karma Ekmekji

Mrs. Karma Ekmekji

Advisor & Board Member

Philip Stoltzfus

Mr. Philip Stoltzfus

Advisor & Board Member

Mr. Rabih El Chaer

Mr. Rabih El Chaer

Advisor & Board Member

Lina Kriedie

Dr. Lina Kriedie

Senior Researcher and Member of the Technical Committee

Farah Abou Harb

Farah Abou Harb

Country Manager

Farah Wardani

Farah Wardani

Drama Therapist (RDT)

Suzanne Wehbe

Suzanne Wehbe

Program Manager & Researcher in Lebanon

Sara Sakhi

Sara Sakhi

Research Consultant

Paola Moutran

Paola Moutran

Communications Officer & Graphic Designer

Meet the partners

Funding Partners
Intisars
Ebbarra
Education Partners
USEK
Lebanese American University
Media Partners
Sharekkna
Kinobey
Field Partners
Ruwwad
Basmeh-and-zeitooneh
Embrace
utopia
SocialCare
Stand-For-Women
Anamel
Makani
Generous Hand Organization