Our Campaign
Syrian Shelter Families
Support our shelter in Lebanon which provides widows and orphans with food, shelter, healthcare, safety and psychological support.
The conflict in Syria has forced many children to flee their homes and to countries like Lebanon to find a secure place to lead their lives. Even if it means a safe place to live under the sky, between the rubble and rocks.
We need to prevent losing a whole generation of children from Syria. Safeguarding them and giving them opportunities to learn, developing their skills and healing the wounds of the conflict. This is vital for the future of these children and for Syria. Children who have fled Syria to Lebanon have witnessed and experienced things no child should bear. But despite all of the suffering, children have an amazing ability to recover and heal. They want to learn and have a better future.
While over 1.3 million refugees reside in Lebanon, Syria’s civil war is trampling on its’ children as easily as it is killing its’ adults. The 400,000 child refugees now in Lebanon represent a lost generation. Poverty is not their only constraint, but they have to suffer the consequences of finding a safe home to live in and find food and adequate healthcare. Many of these children are vulnerable and face exploitation not only through traffickers but also from people who look to sexually exploit them, particularly under-aged girls. The vast majority of orphan children are forced to work on the streets to survive; with others left to roam around the streets by themselves to find shelter, food and water; all in appalling and traumatising situations.
We had acquired a disused building in the city of Saida, which is located in southern Lebanon, and converted it into homes for orphans and widows. The shelter provides not only the basic necessities but it also delivers a critical psycho-social support programme, which will help the women and children overcome the trauma that they have suffered.
See the stories of the Syrian families being taken care of in Lebanon:
(click on the links below to see each story)
“I no longer have to go out on Fridays to beg on the streets with my children or find a street to sleep on”
~ Mahar Al Shalji, a blind widow with four children. (Mahar's Story)
“When our stock ran out my children and I had to eat grass which made us fall seriously ill”
~ Nasrin Abdul Latif, a widow with four children. (Nasrin's Story)
“We ran out of food hiding in the basement, so we had no option but to survive on grass"
~ Asma Zaidan, a widow and her three children (Asma's Story)
“The horror I have witnessed will stay with me forever..”
~ Samiri Masri, and her only son, Abdul, aged 15 (Samiri's Story)
“It took us 8 hours to walk across (just) the borders (alone) in to Lebanon”
~ Manna Bakkar, and her children, Tasnim aged 12, and Muhammad Ghanoum, aged 11. (Manna's Story)
“I don’t know if my sons are still alive. I haven’t been able to contact them since leaving”
~ Salma Jomaa Zilkih, and her daughter Amal, aged 12. (Salma's Story)
“Our journey to Lebanon took 24 hours. When we finally arrived, we were struggling financially, moving from one temporary shelter to another”
~ The Abrash Family. (The Story of the Abrash Family)
“I was pregnant with my son and had an 8-month old daughter when the war started. My husband left one day to get diapers and did not come back”
~ Darine Al Satouf, and her two children, four and five years old. (Darine's Story)
“We had nowhere to go which left us with no option but to sleep on the streets”
~ Wafaa Muhammad Katlish, a widower and her children. (Wafaa's Story)
“I saw people eating cats, dogs and leaves when there was no food”
~ Najwa Joma Ibrahim, a widower and her four children. (Najwa's Story)
“My Husband has been missing for 5 years. He went to work one day and never returned”
~ Mariam and her two children. (Mariam's Story)
“A drone came over to our village one day to take pictures. The next day the whole place was bombed”
~ Hanadi Safia, a widower, and her three children. (Hanadi's Story)
“I had to protect my children from the bombing and mortar on our way to Lebanon”
~ Halima Ali, and her four children. (Halima's Story)
“My husband failed to treat us well. He abandoned us at a time when we needed him the most”
~ Falak Hussain and her three children. (Falak's Story)
“We had to leave home as soon as the war started as we lived right beside the military base in Damascus. My husband and son went missing one day and we never saw them again”
~ Hala Daghmash and her two sons. (Hala's Story)
“We went from a perfectly normal life in Syria – our happy home – to this. It was a shock to all of us. My daughter couldn’t cope and ran away. I pray every day for her return”
~ Rabab Al Mojaber, and her three children. (Rabab's Story)