- Title: Lebanese start-up offers babysitting on demand
- Date: 27th December 2016
- Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF JALEESA BABYSITTER, LEA NEHME, HELPING YOUNG GIRL, LEILA, WITH HOMEWORK VARIOUS OF NEHME AND LEILA WORKING TOGETHER USING LAPTOP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND MOTHER OF LEILA, NATHALIE EL-MIR, SAYING: "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 - for example, Lea sends me after each session 'Leila finished her homework, she still needs to do this'; even notes on the emotional level like 'Leila was focusing today' or 'Leila was not really focusing today, you should follow up on her more' - 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." JALEESA TEAM, ANGELA SOLOMON, HASSAN BAYLOUN AND STEPHANIE D'ARC TAYLOR, WORKING VARIOUS OF SIGN READING (English): 'JALEESA. TRUSTED CHILD CARE ON DEMAND. BETTER BABYSITTING / 1 IN 4 SITTERS / SUBSIDIZED CHILDCARE' CLOSE UP OF (English) 'BETTER BABYSITTING' TEXT ON WEBSITE VARIOUS OF CHEQUE AWARDED TO JALEESA READING (English): 'STARTUP COMPETITION. PAY AGAINST THIS CHECK JALEESA TO THE ORDER OF THE WINNER OF THE STARTUP COMPETITION THE SUM OF $20,000' (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH CEO OF JALEESA, ANGELA SOLOMON, SAYING: "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." VARIOUS OF STICKY NOTES ON WALL AT JALESSA OFFICES CLOSE UP OF NOTES READING (English): 'INFANT CARE', 'NANNIES' AND 'MOM EVENTS' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LEBANESE PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT AND JALEESA BABYSITTER, LEA NEHME, SAYING: "We, at Jaleesa, choose various training; some of them in first aid and how to properly deal with the child; how to choose the appropriate activities for a specific aged child and how to help children appreciate themselves to reach a point where they can be responsible for themselves." VARIOUS OF SOLOMON AND BAYLOUN WORKING
- 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: LVA0015ENPZRP
- 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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