ANERA at Nahr El Bared Refugee Camp

Before & After 2007 Slideshow

The above slideshow gives a sense of the destruction Nahr El Bared suffered in 2007, as illustrated by the damage done to the community center. [Leave cursor over images to see captions. For a larger view, click on the image.]

 

ANERA's Creative Health Campaign brings fun and health messages in Lebanon's camps.

Children march holding signs with healthy messages at Creative Health Campaign parades.

ANERA brings relief to Nahr el Bared through donated supplies of medicines and other health care products.

This client receives essential medicine
- donated by ANERA -
from the Shifa Clinic.

 

In the spring of 2007, Nahr El Bared, a refugee camp of 40,000 Palestinians in northern Lebanon, was devastated by three months of fighting between Fatah Al-Islam militants and the Lebanese army. The violence and heavy bombing left in its wake an almost empty refugee camp, where 60% of the buildings and 80% of the homes were severely damaged or completely destroyed.

Almost all of the families living there were displaced for the second time in their lives, for many it was the third or even fourth time.

ANERA is helping families return to Nahr El Bared as they struggle to resume normal lives while living in temporary shelters or patched-up buildings.

PODCAST: The director of the community center (rebuilt, in part, by ANERA) at the heart of the Nahr El Bared refugee camp talks about the center's important work.

Listen to the podcast >>

 

ANERA's Humanitarian Response

ANERA‘s response to date includes five different activities aimed at improving the environment in the camp and helping residents to return and rebuild their lives.

Helping local non-profits restore needed services
In cooperation with Beit Atfal Assamoud, a Palestinian non-profit, ANERA restored the Social and Cultural Center which had sustained heavy damage. Thanks to ANERA’s donors, the preschool on the first floor is operational again, serving 45 children every morning. The second and third floors are also complete. After-school remedial classes for primary and secondary students are taking place and youth are bettering themselves through vocational trainings.
Read about the recent inauguration.

Colorful health festivals and parades brighten the gloom
ANERA's Creative Health Campaign has come to Nahr El Bared. Children and adults parade through the streets chanting messages of good health, dressed as fruits and vegetables. There are art displays and theater performances. Mothers learn about the benefits of breastfeeding and making baby food. These activities are much needed colorful and joyous bright spots.

Medical supplies are more readily available
ANERA ships millions of dollars worth of donated medicines and health care supplies to Lebanon every year. In response to the crisis in Nahr El Bared, ANERA has ensured that partner clinics and hospitals providing health services to the communities impacted receive first priority in receiving donations. Donations have reached multiple non-profit clinics and hospitals in and outside the camp since 2007.

There is a place to play
On a visit to the camp, ANERA staff noticed a large empty lot. It was full of garbage with children playing in the midst of it all. Inquiries revealed that the owner of the lot was open to converting it to a public park to serve the children of displaced families. Within a few months ANERA was able to raise funds from private donors to turn the lot into a safe play area. Now there is a first-class playground and soccer field for the children on the lot. Read more.

Families have reliable access to water
ANERA's 2008 Annual Dinner raised money for installation of water tanks on the roofs of family’s homes in Nahr El Bared. With a local partner, ANERA installed 200 rooftop water tanks which will ensure that thousands of people have a safe, regular, and dependable source of water in their homes.

 

ANERA will continue to support families struggling to rebuild their lives in Nahr El Bared. With continued support from donors we stand ready to do even more.