Empowering Girls to Build Better Futures in Palestine & Lebanon

Every year, October 11 marks International Day of the Girl, a day to recognize and support the rights of girls around the world. This year’s theme is “My voice, our equal future.” One of the key points of this year’s theme is empowering girls to learn new skills towards the futures they choose.

Anera recognizes that when girls have access to educational and economic opportunities, they engage with and eventually invest in their communities — improving the lives of everyone around them.

Here are some of the ways your support of Anera’s programs empowers girls to build better futures in Palestine and Lebanon:

Providing Basic and Non-formal Education for Girls in Lebanon

Nagham lives in a tent camp in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon. Her family used to live in a nice home in Syria, where they lived a happy life. Nagham’s schooling was put on hold for years, until she found Anera’s UNICEF-funded basic education classes.

Building Safe Spaces for Girls to Create Community and Grow

Anera completed construction of Musaddar Sports Club to provide a space for young people in Gaza to play soccer in a safe, clean and welcoming environment. One goal of the project was to increase opportunities for girls to participate in sports programs.

Constructing Safe Learning Environments for Girls (and Boys) in Palestine

Anera’s early childhood development program is leading the way in setting standards for preschool education in Palestine — both in teaching methods and building schools. This brand new preschool in Al Majd, Palestine includes colorful classrooms, safe play areas, toys and books, and much more.

Providing Vocational Education and the Tools for Success to Girls in Lebanon

In Lebanon, half of all Syrian children do not go to school. For refugee youth like Nour and Ali, school is largely inaccessible due to the cost. Now they’re getting a chance to enroll in our non-formal education courses with donated school and hygiene kits. The kits give students the supplies they need to learn, grow and get ahead despite countless obstacles in their host country.

Supporting Future Women Entrepreneurs Through Coding and Technology Education in Palestine

Rula is one of our Anera+RBK (ReBootKamp) students in Gaza. She recently graduated from the coding and career accelerator program. Anera’s program produces high quality software engineers in just 16 weeks using a curriculum developed in Silicon Valley and gives participants market-ready, adaptable coding skills and other essential skills demanded by the industry.⁣⁣

Empowering Girls (and Boys) Through Personal and Community Hygiene Education Programs in Lebanon

In the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon lies Burj El Barajneh; the most densely populated Palestinian refugee camp in the city and home to more than 17,000 registered refugees; all living within a mere 1 square kilometer area. Overcrowding, poor economic conditions, and social and political marginalization have made the community in this camp vulnerable to poor sanitation practices and conditions.

In response to these challenges, Anera partnered with UNICEF to do outreach in Burj El Barajneh as part of the Community Based Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Project.