The Mission for Powering Lebanon
Who Are We?
M.Powering Lebanon is a nonprofit organization that provides reliable and sustainable electricity sources to the people of Lebanon, whether chronic patients or poor families, in dire need of uninterrupted power at home. By launching international fundraising campaigns and coordinating with power suppliers and subject matter experts, M.Powering Lebanon enables societal change and empowerment. M.Powering Lebanon is registered in Texas, U.S.A.
The Issue
Electric outages disrupting daily lives remain a struggle for most Lebanese people who also face recurring political deadlocks, a failing currency that has the second highest inflation rate in the world, and a catastrophic explosion in Beirut that devastated thousands of lives.
To date, no sustainable reforms have been implemented for the electricity sector. Currently, the struggle also entails owners of private generators with which millions of Lebanese households subscribe; since the former purchase fuel in dollars and the public cannot afford to buy dollars with local currency, the circle becomes more vicious, and private generator owners tend to the same scenario the state electricity company adopts: rationing power or hiking prices.
To some, like people who have a medical condition requiring electric-powered device, the blackouts are not just a nuisance; they are a matter of life or death.
Our Work
We are currently organizing international fundraising campaigns to provide sustainable electricity sources like solar panels to households in need of constant supply of electricity, such as for people who have medical conditions requiring electric-powered devices.
We also work to raise the sense of urgency about the electricity crisis and serve as a platform for an exchange of ideas between the Lebanese diaspora, international experts, friends of Lebanon and international diplomats. Our whiteboard sessions and open discussions serve to develop collaborative ideas about generating support and developing scalability.
*Photo: Statue commemorating the first Lebanese immigrant to Mexico by Lebanese-Mexican artist Ramis Barquet faces damages grain silos that have become emblematic of the devastating explosion in Beirut’s port on Aug. 4, 2020.
Our Mission
By providing sustainable power alternatives and scaling our approach, we are:
- Bringing power 24/7 to as many people as we can, reducing the gap between power demand and supply in Lebanon.
- Reducing CO2 emissions from diesel-fueled generators and facilitating the transition towards clean energy in Lebanon.
Meet the Team
Abla Hariri, Founding Director
Abla Hariri is a research and development engineer at Linear Labs, a smart electric motor startup based in Texas, USA. She received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She is also a 2019 Alumna of the Christine Mirzayan Science Policy Fellowship at the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C.
Abla was born and raised in Saida, Lebanon. She received her undergraduate and masters degrees from Rafik Hariri University in Mechref, Lebanon.
The experience of electricity shortages was a part of her and her family’s daily life in Lebanon. Improving the electricity sector in Lebanon in any and every way possible is her career mission.
Jad Bitar, Founding Director
Jad Bitar is a first-generation Lebanese American from Los Angeles, California. Jad has a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication studies from California State University, Northridge.
With a specialty in content creation and marketing, he plans to bridge communities from across the world to empower the people of Lebanon.
He gravitates towards the Mission for Powering Lebanon because he believes it’s only natural that Lebanese living outside of Lebanon’s borders give back to the people who have provided them with such a rich culture, history and ancestral home.
Bashar Al-Sadi, Founding Director
Bashar Al-Sadi is a certification engineer at American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas. He received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University. Bashar was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and lived in Damascus, Syria for seven years, where he experienced first-hand daily electric power outages and witnessed their impact on the region.
Bashar believes in M.Powering Lebanon’s mission to bring power supply to those who need it the most and will work to support the mission of powering Lebanon.
Nour Bizri, Field Coordinator
Nour Bizri is a field researcher at Exigo Research & Communications in Lebanon. In addition to her English literature studies at the Lebanese University, she has more than eight years of experience in the Lebanese national nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations environment.
With her interpersonal skills and passion for social work, she gained valuable experience in many areas. Her experience covers project organization and coordination, public relations, training and field research.
Nour is passionate about helping her community and is determined to invest her extensive experience in the field in contributing to the Mission for Powering Lebanon.
Sandra Whitehead, Editorial Consultant
Sandra Whitehead is a journalist, author and educator, teaching journalism and media studies at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is the author of Lebanese Americans, published by Marshall Cavendish, New York, and senior editorial consultant to HOME Magazine Lebanon, Beirut.
She taught in Lebanon from 2009-2016 at Rafik Hariri University, where she met two of M.Powering Lebanon’s founding directors. She grew to love Lebanon and the Lebanese people, and is inspired by the can-do spirit of so many Lebanese who take it upon themselves to restore their homeland.
Mohamad El Hariri, Event Manager and Organizer
Mohamad El Hariri is a research assistant professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Utah and a project manager at the Utah Smart Energy Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Florida International University in Miami, Florida in 2018. Mohamad is a Lebanese native, born and raised in the culturally rich city of Saida.
He believes that in today’s world, access to electricity is a right, not a luxury. Motivated by that, and given the dire life circumstances in Lebanon, Mohamad is proud to join M.Powering Lebanon as an event manager and organizer as a way to give back to his home country.
Nicolas Ferzly, Researcher
Nicolas Ferzly is an Analyst at Sustainable Energy Advantage, a renewable energy consulting firm based in Massachusetts, USA. Nicolas received his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut. He spent most of his life in Lebanon and realized the country’s great renewable energy potential while doing research on the subject for the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Beirut.
Nicolas aims to leverage his professional experience to support M.Powering Lebanon to deploy renewable energy resources to meet the electricity needs. He hopes to accelerate the clean energy transition and support his native Lebanon while at M.Powering Lebanon.
Hiba Habli, Researcher
Hiba Habli is a solution specialist at Deloitte Consulting LLC with over five years of QA experience. She received a masters degree in computer science from Florida International University in Miami, Florida, and an undergraduate degree in computer science from Rafik Hariri University in Mechref, Lebanon.
Hiba is a Lebanese native from Saida and has first-hand experience with the daily power outages that come with life in Lebanon. Her love for her community along with her drive to come up with practical solutions has inspired her to take an active role in supporting the Mission for Powering Lebanon.