Lebanon and the Syria crisis
The Syria conflict is now in its fourth year and World Vision has been helping those Syrian children and their families who have fled to Lebanon.
With support from our partners, we have helped children and their families live free from the fear of hunger, illness and lack of opportunities. World Vision has assisted more than 190,000 Syrian refugees and their resident hosts.
Geography & people
Located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon shares its border with Syria. With its Mediterranean climate, it is the only country in the Middle East that does not have a desert.
Natural resources include limestone, iron ore, salt and arable land.
More than 95% of the population is Arabic. The remaining population consists of Armenians, Kurds, and Persians. The official language is Arabic, through French, English and Armenian are widely spoken and taught in schools.
Fast facts
- Years of earlier civil war and the influx of first Palestinian and then Syrian refugees have taken a toll on Lebanon’s economy. More than 9% of the workforce is unemployed and almost 30% live below the poverty line.
- Once known as the “classroom of the Middle East”, Lebanon has struggled to provide children with quality education, especially in war torn and rural areas.
- Many children drop out of school to work and contribute to their family’s income.
- Healthcare costs for families in poor communities and refugee camps can cost over half the average income.
Our focus in Lebanon
We began working in Lebanon in 1975, providing shelter, food and medicine for people affected by the civil and regional wars. Since 2011, more than a million Syrians have taken refuge in Lebanon, a number that increases every day – one in four people is thought to be a refugee.
We have responded to the escalating needs of Syrian refugees in Lebanon by focusing on providing emergency relief and improving the lives of refugee children as best we can. We work with local communities, improving education and providing protection, to help children live their lives free from fear.
OUR ACHIEVEMENTS IN LEBANON
With support from our partners, we have helped children and their families live free from the fear of hunger, illness and lack of opportunities. World Vision has assisted more than 190,000 Syrian refugees and their resident hosts. Help includes provision of food vouchers, hygiene kits, and projects to improve access to clean water and sanitation. Highlights include:
Food
- We have distributed food vouchers to more than 130,000 refugees in the Central and West Bekaa.
Personal and household supplies
- 85,000 Syrian refugees received winterization kits which contain items such as a heater, fuel, blankets, and cash to cover the costs of heating their homes or vouchers to buy winter clothing.
Health
- Mothers have access to information and advice related to nutrition, reproductive health and childhood illnesses, helping them to protect their children’s health.
- We distributed more than 30,000 hygiene kits to refugee families.
Education
- To prevent Syrian child refugees becoming a lost generation, we are providing educational support and helping children join mainstream Lebanese education.
- Hundreds of children have been reached through our learning programmes, recreational activities and we have supplied books and furniture to help schools create safe and inviting classrooms.
Child protection
- With community support we are promoting child rights and protecting children from violence manifested, including exploitation, abuse and child trafficking.
- We operate four Child Friendly Spaces – safe areas where children can learn, engage in fun activities, and receive help to recover from emotional scars.
Department for International Development (DfID) funding
With DfID funding World Vision is able to assist Syrian refugees to improved access to sufficient and safe water supply, appropriate sanitation and solid waste management facilities, and practice appropriate hygiene behavior. So far, World Vision has reached 612 households with water filters, 463 households with bins and 665 households with hygiene kits. Solid waste removal and sewage dislodgement service provisions have begun across the region and 15 water treatment stations are under construction. In total, 100,000 people will benefit from these activities.