Shelter

Extreme weather conditions pose a serious threat to refugee families living in tents and makeshift buildings. Children struggle to cope- or even survive- as heatwaves and winter storms add to health problems and vulnerability.

In urban surroundings, we provide families with conditional cash grants to upgrade substandard shelters and secure a 12-month stay, with a rental reduction negotiated with the landlord. In informal settlements, we help refugees upgrade their tents through the provision of plastic sheets and timber.

In schools, Save the Children strives to improve the study environment through small rehabilitation works including repairing of doors and windows, implementing electrical and water proofing work, painting, furnishing and equipping schools.Save the Children’s shelter team has provided support in sub-standard buildings, unfinished houses, converted garages, abandoned buildings, and informal settlements. Such shelters house a vast number of registered Syrian refugees; as well accommodate Palestinian and an increasing number of economically vulnerable Lebanese.

Save the Children’s shelter programme provides five different packages of assistance depending on the needs and circumstances:

Weatherproofing in Informal Settlement: Families in Informal Settlements or scattered tents receive a shelter kit that includes plastic sheeting, timber, tools, etc. to allow them to repair, reinforce or extend their existing shelter

Weatherproofing & Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) upgrades in Sub-standard Buildings: Families living in unfinished houses and converted garages receive a voucher that can be redeemed for shelter and WASH material to address their individual immediate needs.

Cash for Rehabilitation: Families living in unfinished houses and converted garages receive a conditional cash grant to upgrade their shelters. This is given in exchange for a 12 month period of secure tenure and a rental reduction negotiated with the landlord

Site Improvement: Communities implement semi-permanent site improvements to informal settlements in order to reduce health and safety risks and improve the basic quality of living

Non-Food Item (NFI) Support: Our programme provides families with essential Non Food Items such as hygiene kits, kitchen sets, blankets and mattresses etc. to those in sub-standard conditions and cash during the winter months.

Our activities are designed to reduce health and protection vulnerabilities and restore privacy and dignity amongst the most affected children and their families. Our programming continues to address the full range of shelter needs from emergency shelter assistance to providing long term stability for the most vulnerable families, while increasing the availability of affordable shelter in Lebanon. We target based on needs and support both registered and unregistered refugees, as well as poor Lebanese families