Help Young Syrians Affected By War

Dear friends,

I hope you and your family are safe and well.

This year has brought challenges and uncertainty to us all in ways that were impossible to predict one year ago. While COVID-19 has been the focus of our global attention for the past months, it has been just one of the threats facing people in Lebanon. The Beirut explosion and the intensified political crisis that followed have escalated tensions between Lebanese citizens and Syrian and Palestinian refugees which risks damaging the progress International Alert and our colleagues have worked hard to achieve.

However, thanks to your generous contributions this year and the enduring commitment of our local partners, Basmeh & Zeitooneh, we have been able to restart our work after a temporary pause by bringing our Peace Education lessons online for more than 200 Syrian children. Now the children, supervised by their parents, can play with their friends and continue to learn from the safety of their homes. Through online classes, our trained leaders share videos, songs and stories that engage students, emphasize lessons of tolerance and acceptance, and offer a welcome distraction from the challenges of their daily lives. Many children happily participate and their parents are glad for the support our classes provide.

Moving online has made our classes more accessible to families who were not previously able to visit our centre - but it does provide challenges where some families do not have access to a phone or computer. Our group leaders have also had to adjust some of the topics they feature to better suit online forums, and be sensitive to how we communicate differently in the virtual world. . As online teaching is an exciting new approach for our team, we regularly reflect on our methods with our partners to improve the quality and content of classes and to share the lessons we learn from the process with our colleagues in the peacebuilding sector.

Amidst uncertainty, your continued support this year has allowed us to stand by refugees as our work becomes increasingly vital. From all of us at International Alert, thank you for your generosity and enduring commitment to peace.

With gratitude,

Maria