Sanitation, water and a future in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.
Location
Al Rafeed, in the Central region of the Bekaa Valley
Beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries: 786 (37 teachers, 739 students and 10 workers). 25 of the teachers are women.
Children under the age of 15: 739 students (382 girls and 357 boys). Indirect beneficiaries: 5000 Lebanese and 1500 Syrians.
Duration
Until 31st July 2019
Problems
According to UNHCR, there are currently one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and an estimated half million remain in the country without a certain status. This is the second largest population of Syrian refugees in the region and the largest per capita refugee population in the world.
On the 31st March 2018, according to the latest figures from UNHCR, there were 991,165 Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon, among them 357,592 in the Bekaa Valley (28,7% males < 18, 26,4% girls < 18, 16,9% men and 26,6% women). In spite of the efforts to move towards a more stabilization-oriented response, basic humanitarian needs remain extraordinary.
The situation in Lebanon, even before the Syrian crisis, was already precarious and deficient in terms of water quantity. The fact that many wells are contaminated and most of the infrastructure needs important renovation works is now added to this previous situation.
Efforts to improve this situation by reducing the losses of the system in order to meet the demands of the Lebanese population more efficiently have been eclipsed by an increase of almost 30% of the total population due to the crisis. Nowadays only 36% of this population, regardless of their nationality, uses safely managed drinking water services.
Combined with the lack of immediate assistance, this huge influx of refugees has caused a significant deterioration in the living conditions and social cohesion.
This migratory pressure especially affects schools, which have been suffering water and sanitation shortages since before the crisis.
Objectives
The specific activities will focus on helping Syrian boys and girls and the host communities in Lebanon to meet their water and sanitation needs in schools so that they can respond adequately to future shocks. Specifically, the project will contribute to the improvement and access to Water and Sanitation services at the Al Rafeed Intermediate School in Al Rafeed, in the Central region of the Bekaa Valley.
In general the project intends to improve the stability and resilience of Lebanese communities hosting Syrian refugees through the improvement of the access to water, sanitation and environmental health.
Description
- Reconstruction of the connections to the water system.
- Reconstruction of latrines for students and latrines for teachers.
- Construction of handwashing points with adequate drainage close to each latrine.
- Creation and Support of a Water and Sanitation Committee in the school.
- Hygiene promotion activities on the risks related to an incorrect behavior in matters related to Water and Sanitation.
