BEIRUT: With a diaspora community of millions, and one of the highest remittances rates in the world, Lebanon maintains strong ties to its expats.

Launched in November 2009, Live Lebanon, a one-of-its-kind U.N. Development Program project, has sought to make the most of these links, channeling money from abroad to help development projects in Lebanon.

Fadi Salameh is the Institutional Goodwill Ambassador for UNDP Live Lebanon, representing the project and coordinating with the other ambassadors around the globe, each of whom is responsible for raising funds within their particular community, whether Australia or Brazil, among others.

He spoke to The Daily Star Monday about his role in the project, and what Live Lebanon means for the country.

Appointed to the role earlier this year, after having returned to Lebanon after a long stint in Dubai, Salameh, until recently the head of the Middle East Communications Network, was attracted to Live Lebanon due to the non-sectarian nature of its work.

“Live Lebanon doesn’t belong to one group or another, and in Lebanon this is very, very important,” he says.

The projects completed to date, 13, have been carried out across the country, in 30 villages across every region and are selected through a rigorous process to ensure that they benefit the widest group of people, Salameh says.

Live Lebanon projects fall under one of four categories: Young, Healthy, Green and Prosperous. Donors might select a project they’re particularly interested in. Those with a passion for the environment might choose a Green project, such as one of the eight projects currently being implemented, affecting a predicted 20,000 people: the rehabilitation of a local reservoir in Tal Dnoub in the Bekaa which will provide residents with uninterrupted access to running water.

Often though, donors are moved to help fund schemes – the average cost of a Live Lebanon project is $40,000 – in villages where they or their ancestors originate from.

“The majority like to donate to their own town, to something that means something to them,” Salameh says.

Live Lebanon’s projected total budget for 2011 is $650,000.

Remittances to Lebanon stood at $8.4 billion in 2010, accounting for 21.4 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. The country was the largest recipient of remittances in the Middle East and North Africa, and the 12th highest in the world.

With such large amounts of money coming in to the country, Live Lebanon offers potential donors the opportunity to see exactly how their money is spent.

“Working with UNDP, from day one you can see where every penny is spent ... if a donor is interested, he or she can go in at any time and find out the progress of the project,” Salameh says.

And while this is the only such diaspora project around the world, UNDP is looking at Live Lebanon as a template for future schemes, with a potential eye on Armenia.

“With a small amount of money you are affecting an entire community, those people who are really in need,” explains Salameh. “Our projects affect a lot of people: if you supply some water you are helping local agriculture and the whole area.”