Lebanon: Women to Women Program

The Women to Women program is solely funded by individual donations from the Australian community. The program is carried out in Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp in Lebanon with Palestinian refugee women.

Hiba with a client in her salon.

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
The situation for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been one of extreme hardship and suffering since their displacement from historic Palestine in the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948. These refugees now number over 420,000, more than half of whom remain in one of the dozen official United Nations refugee camps scattered throughout Lebanon.

Lebanon has the highest incidence of Palestinian refugees living in 'abject poverty'. The camps have no proper infrastructure and are severely overcrowded, with high levels of poverty and unemployment. Palestinians in Lebanon do not have social, civil and political rights, are restricted from accessing government health or education facilities, and have no access to public social services. Palestinian refugees are also considered foreigners in Lebanon, and are forbidden to work in over 70 trades and professions. Consequently, poverty, ill health and depression are widespread throughout the Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon.

To this day, the international community has failed to find an adequate, durable and sustainable solution to their problem and that of the millions of Palestinian refugees scattered around the world. For over 60 years, they remain excluded from the international system for the protection of refugees, and excluded from their right to return to their homeland in Palestine.

The Women to Women Program
Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA's generous community donors have raised over A$47,000 (average A$3,000/year) for this ongoing program since 1997. The funds from this project allow young Palestinian refugee women to further their education and gain employable skills, ultimately providing them with an opportunity to earn an income to support themselves and their families.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA's long-term Palestinian partner organisation, the Women's Humanitarian Organisation (PWHO), implements the program for young refugee women in Burj al-Barajneh camp. PWHO selects recipients on the basis of the following criteria:

• The extent to which they and their family suffer financial need
• The likely impact of the scholarship - i.e. will it help the recipient complete her studies and find work?

To learn about the program's activities in the past year, please download the report below.

You can support this work in the Middle East by becoming a donor today.

Download full report:
2010-11 Report to Donors: Lebanon: Women to Women Program [ pdf ]

© Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA 2003.

Last Modified: Thursday, 18-Aug-2011 17:57:13 EST
This page: http://apheda.org.au/projects/mideast/pages/1124762829_10195.html