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One LifeAbout us

Whowe are.

A private, self-funded humanitarian and social foundation, created to be closer to people and to their real lives.

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Who we are

Close to people, and to their reality.

One Life Foundation is a private, self-funded humanitarian and social foundation, created to be closer to people and to their real lives.

We began by reaching families directly and studying their needs. Over time, our experience grew to cover different areas: from housing, medical care and the elderly, to schools, education, productive projects and community initiatives.

We never set ourselves a fixed template, because reality itself was setting our priorities. With every experience, our vision became clearer:

Not to stop at meeting today’s need, but to look — whenever possible — for a step that can make a difference tomorrow.

Huda Hajer embracing a woman during a field visit
Huda Hajer — in the field
Our story

How did it all begin?

I no longer wanted our help to be distant from us. I wanted us to reach people ourselves — to listen to them, understand their needs, and see the impact of our work on the ground.

Giving has always been part of our life as a family. After the crisis that shook Lebanon, the circle of need grew wider — so we chose to turn that energy into real, organised work. We chose the name “One Life” because every person has one life, and the right to live it with dignity and hope.

Huda HajerFounder & President
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Our mission

Close to people. Listening first.

Our mission is to stay close to people: to listen before we decide, and to understand the need before we act.

We aim to offer responsible support that protects human dignity, and to turn help — whenever possible — into a chance to learn, to work, to become independent and to build a better future.

We don’t believe in help for help’s sake. We always ask:

What will remain once this step is over?

1

We listen before we decide

We stay close to people, and we always begin by hearing them.

2

We understand the need before we act

Responsible support that protects human dignity — not help for help’s sake.

3

We turn help into opportunity

Whenever possible: a chance to learn, to work, to become independent and build a better future.

Our vision

A society where hardship is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new opportunity.

We believe that:

01

Education builds the future.

02

Knowledge widens choices.

03

Work preserves independence.

04

Young people who create their own opportunities are the foundation of a stronger society.

We want One Life to grow from responding to need into creating more sustainable impact — reaching from the individual to the family, and from the family to the community.

Our goals

What we work towards.

At One Life, we work towards goals that have evolved with our experience on the ground:

  1. 01Supporting education and students, and helping remove some of the obstacles that can stand in the way of their studies.
  2. 02Empowering young people through training, knowledge and skills that help them enter the job market and create their own opportunities.
  3. 03Supporting people with skills and ideas that can become productive projects.
  4. 04Standing by families in their most pressing basic needs, when it is within the foundation’s capacity.
  5. 05Helping improve housing and living conditions when an intervention can make a real difference.
  6. 06Developing projects and initiatives that serve a wider part of society.
  7. 07Listening to people and involving them in shaping ideas and understanding the needs of their city and community.
  8. 08Gradually moving from immediate solutions to more sustainable, independent projects.

Our goal is not for people to depend on us, but — whenever we can — for them to receive what helps them depend more on themselves.

Our values

What we believe, at every step.

  • A person is not a “case”. We respect their story, privacy and dignity at every stage of our work.

  • We say what we can do, we commit to what we say, and we act with clarity and transparency.

  • We see the person before the need, and treat everyone with love and respect, without discrimination.

  • Good intentions are not enough. We study the need and think through the impact of every decision before acting on it.

  • We build our relationships with people on respect and honesty — not on a temporary giver–receiver relationship.

  • Whenever possible, we choose the solution that lasts, and the opportunity that helps people keep going on their own.