A connected and resilient Druze community in which every capable young person has the opportunity to pursue higher education, develop their potential, remain connected to their cultural heritage, and contribute meaningfully to the wellbeing and progress of the community and Lebanon.
The Social Work League empowers Druze university students and graduates by expanding access to higher education, strengthening academic and professional opportunities, promoting cultural knowledge and identity, and creating meaningful platforms for community participation and intergenerational engagement.
The Social Work League (Druze University Graduates) -SWL- was founded in Beirut in 1958 by a group of young Druze university graduates who recognized the gravity of the social, educational, and economic challenges facing members of their community and country.
Dr. Atef Saad (president), Chafic Abi Said, Mounir Abou Ayyache, Samir Abou Hamzeh, Walid Abou Mershed, Dr Shawki Ghrayzi, Raouf El Gosseini, Halim Hamad, Souad Hamadeh, Issam Naaman, Mona Noweihed, Nabih Rasheed, Farid Rayes and Salah Salmaan shared a vision: to mobilize educated members to respond collectively to urgent needs of the community.
From its earliest years, the League translated this commitment into concrete action. It helped address gaps in access to healthcare services and provided accommodation in Beirut for female university students coming from areas outside the capital. These initiatives established an enduring principle that continues to guide SWL today: community solidarity should lead to practical solutions that improve people’s lives and expand opportunities.
As the League developed, its work expanded beyond immediate assistance to include fostering community relations and cultural awareness, as well as financial support of university students. The League hence; thanks to fundraising events, public lectures and meetings, and publications; created spaces for social and intellectual exchange and contributed to community dialogue.
During Lebanon’s civil war, SWL maintained its commitment to supporting higher education and community resilience. In the early 1980s, it established the Higher Education Encouragement Committee to manage and expand its non-profit student-loan program. Between 1982 and 1987, the number of students benefiting from the program increased from 29 to 104, demonstrating the League’s capacity to mobilize resources and scale its support in response to growing needs.
This loan program is still active today, and the number of students who have benefitted from it has reached 5000.
Today, more than six decades after its establishment, SWL seeks to strengthen its role as a platform connecting students, graduates, professionals, donors, and community partners. Its focus is to guide university students to develop skills, build professional networks, participate in community life, and become active contributors to the future of their community and not only to provide the financial assistance to enable them to complete their education.
SWL targets to combine its tradition of solidarity with more sustainable and innovative approaches to community development to respond to Lebanon’s prolonged economic crises, technological innovations, and the evolving needs of university students and work markets.
The League’s legacy is therefore both a responsibility to its past accomplishments and a foundation for renewal: from responding to immediate needs to creating sustainable opportunities; from supporting students to empowering future leaders; and from preserving community bonds to building meaningful engagement across generations.
The Social Work League is officially established with a mission to serve and support the local community.