Humanitarian

Six years of conflict in Syria: Save the Children series

It is a narrow passage. As one walks, one has to avoid the hanging wires and watch out for water pouring down from the tops of the buildings.

Fouad* opens the door himself. He offers a seat and exchanges cheerful greetings, all while quickly moving around the room.

‘’Togetherness means different minds and cultured spirits.’’

On an oval-shaped cardboard inside one of the classrooms, these words are inscribed. The handwriting is that of a child, probably a group of children. The message, for them, is clear: ‘’We are together. Friends.’’

Save the Children is helping children as young as seven to escape child labour in Lebanon by teaching them about their rights at three recently opened centres in Akkar, North Lebanon.

Some 200 children, who work in a range of occupations, including painting, mechanics, butchery and construction, come to these centres in Bireh, Mounseh and Akroum where they can spend time relaxing after a long, hard day’s work.

They have been learning through recreation for months. And today, this group of talented children are demonstrating their skills with the same tool.

Save the Children’s centre in Mount Lebanon was the stage of a series of spectacular performances, as children took part in an event to mark the end of a successful five-month Education and Child Protection project.

Forty-four days were enough. Distress and worry abated. Comfort and relief dominated. For years, Sahar*, a Lebanese mother from Tripoli, could not find the right answer to her daughter’s over-attachment to her and the persistent anxiety and fear of any change.