As part of a routine visit conducted by Global Giving to URDA, Miranda Cleland Senior Community Engagement Associate in Global Giving paid URDA’s biggest shelter site a visit yesterday on August 21.
Al Yasmine Model Productive Village is the biggest Syrian refugee camp in Bar Elias, Lebanon, housing around 225 families and the numbers are still changing due to Al Awdah camp’s recent issue concerning the demolishing process which is forcing many families to flee the later to Al Yasamine.
The visit started with a reception activity by Basamat’s psychosocial support center which included dancing, Q&A round, and an introductory speech. Then, Basamat’s community center’s manager conducted a quick tour in URDA’s new community center which aims at hosting all the facilities that were closed in the camps within one location that is a few-minute ride away from shelter sites. This initiative aims at creating more activities that can include the host community to promote better social inclusion and peaceful coexistence among children, youth and the elderly.
The tour also included URDA’s healthcare center where Ms. Cleland got the chance to check the available clinics, doctors, and facilities which offer affordable health care services to the refugees. The delegation then headed to Al Awdah and Al Yasamine model productive villages to check the Basamat old center which was funded by Global Giving and other centers and projects that will be moving to the new community center in the near future. Ms. Cleland was hosted in a tent by a Syrian refugee family who explained the situation in the camp and the hardships refugee go through on a daily basis.
The Visit ended with a final tour with children in Al Yasamine model productive village and its facilities.