- Title: Lebanese start-up offers babysitting on demand
- Date: 27th December 2016
- Summary: COMPUTER SCREEN SHOWING JALEESA WEBSITE
- Embargoed: 11th January 2017 11:12
- Keywords: Lebanon start-up technology babysitting
- Location: BEIRUT AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, LEBANON
- City: BEIRUT AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0025ENPZRP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Booking a babysitter can now be done at the touch of a button, thanks to Lebanese startup Jaleesa.
Jaleesa translates as 'babysitter' in Arabic.
Its founders say parents can now find a trusted and qualified babysitter through its website, with Jaleesa carrying out the research and safety checks for you.
Jaleesa provides childcare in Lebanon's Beirut, Metn, Jounieh and Chouf but hope to expand further as they hire more staff.
"What is nice about Jaleesa is their daily follow-up on the child, they send a report after each session with the performance of the child that day...so you are always following your child even if you are not physically with them. This is really special and you can feel the trust," said one mother Nathalie El-Mir, who uses the service to arrange care for her daughter Leila.
Mir works as a creative director and was referred to Jaleesa through a friend.
Jaleesa was co-founded by three Beirut-based enthusiasts, Angela Solomon, Hassan Bayloun and Stephanie D'arc Taylor on a mission to create a solution with social impact.
The organisation was recently awarded US20,000 dollars by the Lebanese Central Bank for its winning startup idea.
CEO Angela Solomon said winning the top prize was a huge endorsement for the team. She added that Jaleesa has always intended to help all types of women looking to gain employment.
"Stephanie, Hassan and I, the three co-founders of Jaleesa, wanted to do something positive here that would help especially in the wake of the Syria crisis to create employment. So we came up with an idea that we think helps women get into work in three different ways: first of all, by offering trusted childcare for moms who want to return to work after having their kids; secondly, by creating jobs, by employing people who are brilliantly well-qualified childcarers into the Jaleesa system as babysitters and nannies; and thirdly, by subsidising childcare for underprivileged families so that the parents of those children can also go out, do training or find employment in other ways," Soloman said.
Babysitters employed by the organisation come from a range of nationalities and include Syrian refugees.
Qualified applicants are provided with necessary training and undergo safety checks before being cleared to work for the start-up.
Lebanese psychology student and Jaleesa babysitter, Lea Nehme who looks after Leila, said the idea is to encourage the child to get to a point where they can one day "be responsible for themselves." She added that she hopes that by working for Jaleesa she is helping women who want to pursue long term career goals.
"I really love when I am the reason for the change of a small detail in a child's discipline, I would have surely also helped the working mother who does not have enough time. In general I will be helping the family and society in the short and long term," said Nehme.
Jaleesa founders say they have helped over 50 families in Lebanon so far with prices starting at US15 dollars per hour.
Solomon says the money awarded will be re-invested into the service, hoping to provide solutions for Lebanese women looking to shape the face of modern Lebanon. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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