Since the onset of the Syrian conflict in March 2011, Lebanon has experienced an unprecedented influx of Syrian refugees. Officially there are over one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, unofficially the estimate is double that. The mid-Bekaa Valley contains the highest concentration of refugees, with over 340,512 individuals registered with the UNHCR.

In the Bekaa valley, Syrian refugees live in challenging conditions in informal tented settlements. Syrian refugee children and youth (aged 3 to 18) make up 54% of registered Syrians in Lebanon and are the most vulnerable. Children born and raised in camps have been either unable to start or complete their education and are ineligible for Lebanese schools which require specific levels of numeracy and literacy. If they manage to go to schools in nearby villages, they are often bullied and laughed at because of the different accent and dialect spoken by Lebanese children. Many of the parents also need their children to work to provide for the huge need a refugee family requires to live by. Most of these children also require careful treatment because of the trauma and stress resulting from their experiences.

Education provides stability for the present and hope for the future. It is vital that this generation of Syrians does not grow up without education. Education also protects children from child labour and early girls marriage which are becoming more and more visible within the refugees communities.

Hands Up Foundation has partnered with a brilliant local organization in Lebanon (SAWA for Development and Aid) to support an early education school project in the village of Barelias in Lebanon. This school is an attempt to give the children in refugee camps the chance to start or continue their education and perhaps then have a chance of having a better future.

The school in Barelias looks after 280 Syrian children from surrounding refugee camps and provides quality education to give them the best possible chance of continuing into formal education via the Lebanese system. This programme incorporates psychosocial support (through a trained team of social workers and psychologists) in all lessons, teaching the children coping mechanisms to manage trauma and stress.

The project will also provide livelihoods for teachers, administrative and support staff who will be employed from the surrounding refugee community. As a part of the capacity building component of the school, the staff will benefit from continuous training on the various technical and soft skills required for their jobs.

The programme runs for an academic year, and pupils will attend classes and activities seven hours a day, five days a week. They will be provided with school uniforms (designed and made by women from the local refugee community), as well as the books and stationery needed for classes. Throughout the year, transport to and from the school will also be provided.

Please help us raise much needed funds to help support this amazing project and buy back to school kits for the children at the school. Most kids there do not have school bags, school uniforms neither have the means to buy books or stationary. With your donation, we are one step closer to giving these children the chance to a better life and a brilliant future.