At the Sanayeh School — Glad Tidings... The Government Attends to Health Education

My first acquaintance with the teachers' health conference, held by the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Health with the assistance of Point Four, came at a pleasant evening gathering, where I saw the atmosphere of harmony and affection prevailing in the relations of those men and women teachers. They are twenty-one women teachers and twenty-nine men teachers from the various provinces of Lebanon, brought together at the government school of arts (the Sanayeh) in the middle of last July. They were chosen as a nucleus for beginning the struggle to spread health education and make it general throughout this country. And the school, after the home, is the fittest place to teach its children the strong, protective principles of health that will make of us a free, rising people... so long as the sound mind is in the sound body.

Then I came to observe a full day of the conference's program. I was received by Dr. Robert Karam, the physician whom the officials delegated to take charge of all the affairs of the conference, and whose competence and talent — deserving of every appreciation and encouragement — stood out plainly. Dr. Karam set about explaining to me the idea of holding the conference and its aims. He said: After long study we found that the school is one of the important elements on which we can rely to raise the standard of health in the country... and through it this seed must be planted, so that it spreads and becomes general... But there was one obstacle standing in our way: our lack of health books in the Arabic language... simple, easy books that the primary and secondary pupil can understand... For this reason we worked to hold this conference of a select group of teachers, whom we train and guide in the modern, easy methods of preventing disease. Then the Doctor continued, all warmth and faith: We are working hard to come out of this conference having attained the two goals to which we aspire: creating missionaries who will spread the spirit of health among the people, and producing a series of books concerned with matters of public health to be taught in the primary and secondary schools.

On our way to the lecture hall we were met by a cheerful face — that of Mr. Hanna Ghalib, the assistant responsible for the administration of the conference and an effective agent in its success... The president had a kind word describing Mr. Ghalib as the mass of vitality, energy, and good cheer that accompanied the conference.

The lecture room was full of young people pressing toward everything lofty... They sat listening with their whole being to Dr. Flayhan's lecture on germs.

I drew Dr. Karam aside to a corner of the hall and asked him about the conference's daily program. He answered: Most of the teacher-pupils at this conference live as boarders in the school