Middle East Crisis
IR Projects in Palestine
ECHO funded project allows 1,500 families to return home
An Islamic Relief (IR) project funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has allowed 1,500 Palestinian families to return to their homes in the Naher al Bared camp in North Lebanon.
The camp was almost entirely destroyed and rendered completely uninhabitable during armed conflict between the Lebanese army and ‘Fath al Islam’ militants in May of this year, causing the victims to flee to the nearby Baddawi camp where they were housed in local schools.
At the start of the new school year in September, the families were forced to vacate their temporary shelters. But thanks to the100 percent ECHO funded project most of the families are now back where they belong.
“The people are very pleased with our work, though of course they were upset to see how serious the damage to the camp had been. No one had been expecting that,” said IR country representative Khalid Arab.
The project began on October 1, 2007 and will be finished by December 31, 2007. It has included cleaning and disinfecting damaged homes, clearing away rubble and restoring the sewage system, as well as providing clean and safe water via emergency storage facilities.
“Our problem now is the quantity of water needed. We are their only source of water and in the last few days as some of them try to rebuild their homes they are calling for more. We are doing our best to satisfy them, but it is difficult and this is our next challenge,” Arab added.
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