Help Strengthen the Resilience of Syrian Refugees

Dear Supporter,

Thanks to your generous contributions, Concern Worldwide continues to work with Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons in Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. We provide for basic needs, along with education and psycho-social support, depending on the context and the needs. Today, I would like to highlight our work to upgrade Informal Tented Settlements in Lebanon.

With 1.5 million Syrian refugees taking shelter in the country, Lebanon is currently housing the highest per capita number of Syrian refugees based on its population size. By the end of 2017, 36% of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon reported having no member in their family currently employed, which resulted in negative coping strategies, such as living on credit and borrowing excessively. This statistic highlights the vulnerability of Syrian refugees, and to further emphasize the point, 91% of Syrians in Lebanon describe themselves at food insecure.  

Fatima* and her mother, who is ill, fled to Lebanon to escape violence in Syria. They currently live in tents in an Informal Tented Settlement (ITS) in North-West Lebanon, about a 90-minute drive from the heavily damaged Syrian city of Homs. They had both hoped that an escape from Syria would lead to a better life, but they now find themselves struggling to survive.

“I was living in heaven before and now it feels like I am in hell,” Fatima says.

“The hardest thing about my life is getting the money to buy bread and medication for my mother, not to mention the rent for the tent. I work five days a week in agriculture and barely make enough. There is nothing harder than this life.”

When Concern Worldwide arrived to assess the settlement, we noted that the welfare of the settlement’s inhabitants was severely negatively impacted by the muddy and impassible paths and roads. The whole settlement was left isolated from relief services due to the conditions of the paths, as sanitation services, water, and mobile clinic vehicles were unable to access the site. Young children were socially ostracized from going to school due to their muddy feet and were forced to wear plastic bags around their shoes.

“I felt like we were isolated from the world.” Fatima said.

In order to address the problems in the settlement, Concern provided the refugees support to gravel the path, allowing life-changing services to access the community for the first time. The access has made it much easier for Fatima’s mother to access the medical care that she needs, and has allowed the children of the settlement to attend school with clean feet. While providing an informal tented settlement with gravel might seem like a simple thing to do, Fatima explained to Concern staff that the pathways have changed their lives.

Despite improved conditions in the settlement, Fatima still longs to return to her homeland once the violence has receded. Thanks in part to your contributions, Fatima and her mother can live in improved comfort today while retaining their hope for a better future.

*Name changed for security purposes