Community Centers
Shatila Community Center
Shatila refugee camp, located on the outskirts of Beirut, has long faced a severe shortage of basic services typically provided by the state. Despite the camp’s significant social and economic challenges, it has often been overlooked by international aid organizations due to its precarious security situation. Even after the arrival of Syrian refugees, humanitarian aid agencies were absent in the camp when Basmeh & Zeitooneh was founded in September 2012.
In May 2013, just eight months after launching, Basmeh & Zeitooneh opened its first community center in Shatila. The center aimed to support the refugee population through a variety of programs while fostering social connections. Importantly, the center also extended its services to the Lebanese and Palestinian residents of Shatila, who similarly struggled with a lack of services and opportunities. Within four months, the community center became the largest initiative serving both the refugee and host communities in Shatila and the surrounding areas.
Nabaa Community Center
Nabaa is a residential district in eastern Beirut with a long history of providing refuge to displaced communities, including Armenians, Palestinians, Iraqis, and Syrians. However, the area faces significant challenges in terms of limited educational and employment opportunities, impacting both the host and refugee populations. To address these needs, Basmeh & Zeitooneh established a community center in Nabaa. The center Provides and refer individuals to other NGOs in the area.
As Basmeh & Zeitooneh’s community centers, we work closely with local residents—both Lebanese and refugees—to identify and address community needs in future projects.
Bekaa Community Center
Bar Elias, a town in the Bekaa Valley, hosts the largest concentration of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, with nearly 400,000 individuals registered with UNHCR. Most of the refugee population lives in makeshift tents or overcrowded urban areas, enduring poor living conditions, limited job opportunities, and social and educational exclusion, all exacerbated by rising living costs.
In late 2013, Basmeh & Zeitooneh expanded its programs to the Bekaa region, initially offering recreational activities for children and distributing relief to the most vulnerable families. By April 2014, we established a community center in Bar Elias to serve as a focal point for marginalized communities, providing essential services to those most in need. Today, the center offers a range of programs, supporting women, men, and youth with access to vital resources and opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Tripoli Community Center
We need a description of the community center in Tripoli:
A short brief on the area itself and the need of the community center in the area, the year of establishment, and what are the services offered by the center.
Akkar Community Center
B&Z center in Akkar was established in December 2023. The establishment of the B&Z center was primarily focused on the implementation of an agricultural development project in several areas in Akkar as part of a consortium funded by the BMZ. The role of B&Z was to train 450 farmers and agriculture workers on good agricultural practices, improved agriculture techniques and fortifying agriculturally sustainable practices in the area to strengthen food security and livelihoods of our participants and the community. The project is not only focused on agricultural development but has a strong protection and peace building component in coordination with our partners in the consortium. Since the escalation of the war in Lebanon B&Z teams were directly involved in the emergency relief response to the community who fled the war from South Lebanon, Beirut, Bekaa and Hermel. B&Z was an active participant in the relief response in Akkar targeting Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian people who fled the war. With a primary focus on meeting the immediate needs of the people B&Z distributing blankets, food parcels, ready to eat kits, hygiene kits along with minor rehabilitation work that is being carried out to repair affected areas that were targeted by airstrikes in Akkar.