Empowering Syrian Refugee Women in Lebanon and Developing Their Capabilities
You can find some photos at the end of the text.
During these dire circumstances that the region is passing through as a result of conflicts and crises that burden its people, job opportunities are becoming increasingly limited, especially when it comes to Syrian refugees. As heads of households are either unable to secure a livelihood or are depending on low-paying jobs that disallow them from making ends meet, refugee families are increasingly being subjected to high levels of poverty. To make matters worse, humanitarian aid is continuously declining forcing them to adopt negative coping strategies to survive.
For this reason, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Diakonia and Social Service Department, Lebanon’s office, launched a program to empower Syrian refugee women and enhance their capabilities, through implementing soft skills sessions that would teach them new skills enabling them to better support their families. Hence, by developing skills that allow them to make decorative and useful handcrafts, they can sell these products to earn some money. The interesting matter is that these products can be put together using materials that are either easy to find or that are recyclables.
In addition to the self-sufficiency that these soft skills sessions develop and the newly gained income that they receive to support their families, the sessions are also eye-openers for them to learn other related skills to develop their craft. Moreover, the sessions serve to help the women feel more confident in themselves thus improving their mental wellbeing, and contributes also to their long-term stability and self-sufficiency.
Noting that this program was implemented in partnership with the Norwegian Church Aid - NCA, at Our Lady Dispensary (OLD), affiliated with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), in the Sabtieh region – Mount Lebanon.
