Jul, 2022
Helping young students stay healthy so they can study and succeed
Good health is a key factor in the ability to focus in school. Yet for so many families impoverished by Lebanon’s latest economic crisis, maintaining healthy habits is not always possible.
Families and individuals already struggling before the crisis erupted in 2019 now can hardly afford to put food on the table and pay for medicines, let alone keep their kids in school. Personal hygiene products have become a luxury, from shampoo and soaps to sanitary pads and razors. Many families have had to pare down on meals and medicines to cope.
Tuition fees for schools and universities have skyrocketed. So has the cost of school supplies. For many vulnerable families living in Lebanon’s refugee camps and at-risk communities, higher education is hard to envision.
Anera and other international non-profits have tried to ease the burden by supporting education centers like CIS College within Palestinian refugee camps like Burj El Barajneh, Beddawi and Ein El Hilweh. The education centers also have served as useful distribution points for shipments of donated hygiene supplies and school materials from Anera’s donor partners.
Anera has distributed two shipments of hygiene products donated by Bring Hope Foundation, a Sweden-based non-profit that works with vulnerable communities around the globe. Bring Hope’s donation included more than 47,000 hygiene products, packaged in 12,000 hygiene kits that Anera distributed through 32 centers across Lebanon located both inside refugee camps and in nearby vulnerable communities.
Imad Abdul Rahim is the CIS academic manager in Khalde, south of Beirut. He underlined the benefits of the health kits. “The hygiene kits are so important because they provide basic necessities for our students who can no longer afford them. I can’t thank the donors enough.”
“All these donations help us during these tough times,” says Abdul, a 25-year-old Syrian refugee at CIS College. “I think everyone has the power to change if they are willing. Despite the difficult times, I believe if we have the will to change and improve our lives, we can succeed. But we cannot do it alone so this support is very welcome.”
“The hygiene kits... provide basic necessities for our students who can no longer afford them.”
Lutheran World Relief, one of Anera’s largest donors in Lebanon, sent a shipment of more than 13,500 school supplies, from book bags and books to pens, pencils, erasers, coloring pens and rulers. Anera distributed the supplies to 36 education and health centers across the country including the Awareness and Consolation Association Ketermaya, CIS Ghobeiri, Hamidiyya and Chtoura Hospital.
Anera made sure the supplies and hygiene kits reached the most vulnerable communities, which included at-risk Lebanese families and Syrian and Palestinian refugees. Anera worked closely with numerous partners to organize the distribution.
Nivine, a 25-year-old pharmacy student at CIS summed it up: “Anera and all the donors are encouraging us to study and perform well. They are so supportive and now these health kits and school supplies will protect us and help us stay well so we can focus on our goals.”
