page_title: Lydia Canaan
section_title: Charity work
hierarchical_section_title: Lydia Canaan / Activism and humanitarian work / Charity work
caption_attribution_description: English: Lydia Canaan Singing With a Palestinian Woman at the Social Support Society Active Ageing House, Refugee Camp, Burj Al-Barajneh, August 2011, Beirut, Lebanon
context_page_description: Lydia Canaan is a Lebanese singer-songwriter and humanitarian activist widely regarded as the first “rock star” of the Middle East.
  Credited as the first internationally successful Lebanese recording artist, Canaan rose to fame performing rock music in English amid enemy military attacks during the Lebanese Civil War, holding concerts in vicinities of Lebanon that were simultaneously being bombed. Hala Habib of Society wrote, “in a small country that was ripped by war, there was this young girl making a difference”.
  Canaan was the first Middle Eastern artist to sing solely in English, and the first to have music videos played on MTV Europe, MTV Southeast Asia, MTV Russia, and MTV Middle East. Her musical debut was described as having defied tradition, challenged convention, and transcended millennia-old gender barriers. According to Arabian Woman, “as a girl who grew up in the midst of a bloody civil war, Canaan was breaking down seemingly insurmountable barriers ... She rocked the establishment”. In 2015, Canaan was cataloged in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Library and Archives.
context_section_description: Throughout her life, Canaan has donated her money, music, and time to many charities, particularly those concerned with children, animals, and the elderly. She reportedly made generous donations to the Children's Care Unit of Salmaniyah Hospital, Child Fund International (CFI), and St. Jude's Hospital, and has performed at charity and fundraiser events including American Women's Club, Salmaniyah Hospital (Children's Care Unit), Beirut Rotary Club, American Community School, Association pour la Promotion Feminine, Caritas Internationalis (Liban), Centre Renee Wehbe Le Vieillard Malade, Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA), Lion's Beirut Code Club, Unite Lebanon Youth Project (ULYP), Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts, Al-Jana (ARCPA), Social Support Society Active Ageing House, NASMA Foundation, and Association Amour et Partage.
  Her song, “Beautiful Life”, was selected by South African President Nelson Mandela as the theme song for a charity event in South Africa.
caption: Lydia Canaan singing with a Palestinian woman at the Social Support Society Active Ageing House refugee camp, Burj Al-Barajneh, Beirut, Lebanon, 2011
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