JOAC Lebanon

Visiting projects helping refugees, including schools and a clinic in Lebanon 2017.

The Syrian civil war has killed around 316,000 people since 2011 and displaced more than 11 million, of whom around five million have fled abroad. In response to the crisis, Jersey Oversea’s Aid has focused its efforts on Jordan, Lebanon and within Syria itself, providing lifesaving assistance and helping people stay in or near their homes. A  delegation from JOA, including its chairwoman Deputy Carolyn Labey and director Simon Boas, visited Lebanon and inspected eight Jersey-funded activities in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, including schools, training centres, counselling sessions, water trucking and a clinic. 

During their visit the party met specialsts from Unicef in education, child protection, water, health and sanitation, and held interviews and focus groups with women and adolescents who had benefited from different projects. They also interviewed staff from numerous local and international organisations, including Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Caritas and the Knights of Malta. 

With a population of only around six million, Lebanon has the highest per capita concentration of refugees in the world, hosting more than 1.5 million Syrians, as well as large numbers of Palestinians, Kurds and Iraqis. This huge influx threatens the stability of the delicate sectarian balance, which is composed of 18 different religious groups. It also puts huge pressure on employment, housing, education and natural resources. The World Bank estimates that Lebanon has incurred losses of US$13.1 billion since 2012. 

In October 2016, Jersey granted £475,000 to Unicef for projects focused on needy children in Lebanon. Mr Boas said that targeted education and health support for poor children affected by the crisis can help reduce their future needs, and increase the chance that they can be productive members of their society when they eventually return home. 

Jersey’s donation has helped more than 110,000 children return to formal education, and helped provide safe water for drinking and domestic use for almost 100,000 people, many of whom live in crowded makeshift camps. The Island’s money also contributed to vocational training for older children and breast-feeding and vaccination interventions for infants.

Deputy Labey said: ‘It is humbling to see the fantastic work being conducted by Unicef and its partners with funding from Jersey. ‘For the price of a few pounds each, the people of our Island have helped transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the world. 

‘Furthermore, by helping refugee families in this region, we are increasing the chance that they will one day participate in the reconstruction of their tragic country. ‘I’m incredibly proud of what we’re achieving here, and I’m sure the people of Jersey are too. We have not stood idly by, during one of the worst humanitarian crises since the war.’ ​

During their visit the JOA team also received a special briefing from the director of the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs inside Syria, who came from Damascus to meet them and outlined the main challenges facing the UN and non-government organisations operating in Syria, as well as analysing how 

the situation is likely to evolve in 2017. Through the OCHA, Jersey has been able to support emergency projects inside the war-torn country, including air-drops of food to besieged areas.


Mr Boas, who spent his career running aid programmes in developing countries before joining JOA, said:  ‘Trips like this are terrifically useful, as they give donors – and the taxpayers they represent – the chance to monitor and verify the activities they have funded. ‘They also help us target future assistance more effectively. In fact, by enabling us to build connections with staff inside target countries, we become able to fund programmes like Unicef’s directly, rather than through their UK umbrella organisations, which can actually save us money.