In 1957, Mr. Nadim Shwayri formed the non-profit organization, "Al-Kafaàt Foundation ". The goal of Al-Kafaàt Foundation was twofold: First, to educate young children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds; second, to educate and rehabilitate children with disabilities.
Gradually, the organization grew and developed new services in light of the increasing demands for proper rehabilitation. In the mid-seventies, Mr. Nadim Shwayri institutionalized Al-Kafaàt to the guidance of an elected Board of Trustees.
Al Kafaàt Foundation undertook to set up a University in 1995. This came as a part of the overall strategies laid by the Foundation to support the Lebanese youth, after the success it has recorded in mainstreamed education, technical and Vocational Rehabilitation. In 1999, Ministry of Higher Education, issued a decree in which it states that Al Kafaàt is an Institution of Higher Education. Thus, AL Kafaàt Foundation started a college in Technology and another one in Education, covering around ten fields of study. Al-Kafaàt has a campus that spreads over 60,000 square meters of land in the pine area of Ain-Saadeh, located 10 kilometers away from the capital-city Beirut, and nine buildings consisting of 90 classrooms, 25 laboratories, 30 industrial workshops, 300 residential rooms and a large number of multipurpose halls and sports areas.