Lebanon is in difficult straits as the country hosts over a million Syrian refugees. The official unemployment rate stands at 6.8% but the unofficial rate stands at 25%. Economic growth in 2018 was a mere 1 percent, which is one of the lowest in the region. Palestinian refugees estimated at around half a million live in precarious conditions that affect their quality of life adversely. Within the Palestinian refugee camps there are questions pertaining to security as even civil society organizations come under attack by political and other groups given the lawlessness prevailing. Poverty is rampant with religious fanaticism among some segments of the camp population. Idleness among youth introduces them to smoking and other lawless pursuits and addictions that affect their predisposition to move forward.

DSPR Lebanon seeks to give hope as it extends help with various educational, vocational and community development programs. From a kindergarten that has seen several generations of the same families benefiting from its pedagogical attention to toddlers, to community work in refugee camps side by side with vocational training for young women and men, to organizing fun days to refugee communities to get their members out of the bleak daily routine, to advocating for the rights of refugees with various duty bearers. DSPR Lebanon is also devoting part of its efforts to bringing Palestinian and Lebanese youth together to discuss various issues and concerns of mutual interest. With the Syrian refugees seeking shelter, DSPR Lebanon concentrates on making sure that hundreds of Syrian students many of whom are of Palestinian origin receive adequate education to enable them to sit for the official exams in Damascus. As DSPR Lebanon strives to give hope to refugees and to help ensure their human dignity, it also embarks on new programs such as one on Forgiveness and Reconciliation, another on Children on the Go and a third a Bee Keeping project which sees scores of adults becoming beekeepers and honey producers.

Promote Hope & Dignity in Lebanon.