Help Strengthen the Resilience of Syrian Refugees

Dear Supporter,

Thanks in part to your generous contributions, Concern Worldwide continues to work with Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, providing basic needs such as clean water, food, clothing and shelter. We also provide education, psycho-social support, and community based protection efforts. Today, I would like to focus on our programming in Lebanon.  

As I have mentioned in past reports, 1.5 million Syrian refugees have been absorbed into Lebanon since 2011, swelling the country’s population by an incredible 25%. The influx of refugees has created a housing crisis, in which dramatic surges in demand have increased rental prices, meaning that many Syrian families are no longer able to secure decent accommodations. As a result, they are often forced to live in poor conditions and frequently in spaces that were never meant to be inhabited, or buildings that were never completed. An estimated 38% of refugees in northern Lebanon are now living in overcrowded or substandard conditions which lack basic services. Many structures are simply not equipped for the heat of Lebanon’s summer or the freezing temperatures of the winter months. The health risks, danger, and indignity of these living situations inevitably add copious amounts of stress to the already stressful life of a refugee. 

Concern’s team in Lebanon is helping to improve living conditions for these Syrian families. This means adapting and rehabilitating substandard buildings so that they meet a family’s most basic needs. The work includes repairing walls, roofs and windows, installing water storage, toilets, hand-washing and hygiene facilities and septic tanks, and connecting buildings to sewage networks. In 2016 alone, Concern helped improve the basic living conditions for almost 4,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

These practical interventions have made a huge difference to the lives of Hamza* and his family. Hamza’s family fled Syria for Lebanon after he lost his leg in a landmine explosion. At first, they found a house to live in but were soon evicted when they couldn’t pay the rent. Their only option then was a shell of a house, which was essentially a set of walls with no roof, windows, or doors. Hamza, a former farmer, made a makeshift roof overhead and placed an old wooden door across the entrance to prevent wild animals from entering, but the family never felt safe. 

The Concern team worked with Hamza to make his new home safe and secure and provide basic hygiene facilities for the family.  Life remains tough, as Hamza still has trouble getting around due to his injuries, and feeding the family is a constant struggle.  However, thankfully, they now don’t fear for their safety each night.  He tells us: 

“We were afraid before. When it was stormy, we used to stand with our children outside to avoid the roof from falling on top of our head. The children couldn’t use the toilet at night, and we were very afraid. When Concern came to us, our situation changed and we started to feel safe.”

Thanks in part to your contributions, people like Hamza can come home at night to somewhere safe and suitable for habitation, allowing them to plan for a brighter future for themselves and their families.  

*Name changed for security purposes 

Dear Supporter,

Concern Worldwide continues to assist Syrian refugees in meeting their most urgent needs, and we are grateful for your generous support which helps to make this work possible. Concern manages a range of programming for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey, including the provision of basic needs, such as clean water, food, clothing, and shelter. We are also providing education, psycho social support, and community based protection efforts.Today, I want to spotlight Concern’s efforts to assist Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Since the onset of the crisis, Lebanon has absorbed 1.5 million Syrian refugees, which has swelled the country’s population by an astounding 25% in just five years. 

One of Concern’s most critical efforts in Lebanon is our early childhood education (ECE) program in the Akkar and North governorates. This program targets children aged 3-5 to build their core competence in Arabic, Math, and French to improve school readiness by the time children are six years old and eligible to enroll in the formal Lebanese school system. Instructors are both Lebanese and Syrian, and they have been trained in student centered learning, classroom management, and child protection. In addition, parents and other caregivers are trained on home learning techniques, formal education options, and child protection issues. 

In addition to early childhood education, Concern is providing Syrian children in Lebanon with homework support and classes for basic literacy and numeracy in French. For children who are struggling to process their emotions, we offer psychosocial support and engage and encourage parents through parent and caregiver groups. Since 2016 these programs have helped 2,614 children.

I would now like to take the time to share with you a story, written by Concern's Aoife O'Grady, of a Syrian family in Lebanon that is benefiting from our ECE program. 

Kareem* is six years old, and was born in 2011, the same year that the conflict began in Syria. By the time he was a toddler, the war had made Kareem a refugee, as his family had to flee to Lebanon for safety. By leaving Syria, Kareem’s family was ripped from everything and everyone they knew, and the stress and anxiety of displacement left a deep mark on Kareem. He became increasingly isolated from other children and showed almost exclusive attachment to the only constant in his life: his family, and in particular his mother, Mahira*.

When the time came for Kareem to begin school, Mahira knew that the mainstream Lebanese system simply wasn’t an option for him. She was relieved to discover Concern’s ECE program, and felt that it would be the best option for Kareem at the time. Concern’s ECE program has provided a stepping stone for Kareem to make the leap into formal education in Lebanon, and his mother is now confident that he will cope well when the time comes. He has become more active in class and is now mixing well with the other children — he even has a best friend named Asif*. 

Of course, the challenges facing Kareem’s family and the 1.5 million Syrian refugees who have sought safety in Lebanon have not disappeared. Kareem — like so many others — is haunted by those he left behind and keeps asking his mother where his grandparents are. But Concern continues to work with communities to help ensure that Kareem and his peers won’t become part of a lost generation.

The present is undeniably challenging but Concern’s aim is to ensure that a different future is possible for Kareem and the children of Syria in Lebanon.

Mahira concludes:

“I dream my son will continue his education since he took the correct first steps with Concern. I believe that he is on the right path. I will encourage him and I know that organizations like Concern will help him succeed.” 

Thanks in part to your contributions, Kareem has a chance at the education he deserves, and Mahira and her family can look forward to a future full of opportunity.    

*Names changed for security purposes

Links:

• Concern USA Case Study