Amel: Educational support, psychosocial support

Since May 2012, Amel has supported more than 1000 Syrian refugee children to adapt to the Lebanese curriculum by providing remedial support classes.
Classes in English, Arabic, Mathematics and French are taking place three times a week in Amel’s centers in the Bekaa Valley (Arsal, El Ain,Kamed El Loz), South Lebanon (Tyre, Bazourieh, Khiam) and the southern suburbs of Beirut (HaretHreik).
Furthermore, most of the Centers host community activities where Lebanese and Syrian refugee children with different cultural backgrounds can play together and find psychosocial support when needed. Recreational activities such as drawing sessions, animation, theatre activities and sport are organized three times a week in the different centers in order to facilitate refugees’ stress relief. Moreover, Amel focuses on children in need of specific attention, refers them to a psychologist and conducts individual social counseling sessions with children and parents. The remedial classes provided for the Syrian beneficiaries at Amel center are also now given at Mashgara and Shmestar centers, both located in West Bekaa.
Two more programmes already started in Amel centers, these are the ALP and Child Protection Programme
1. Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) started in the centers in the South (Tyre, Bazourieh, and Khiyam) and Bekaa (Ersal, El Ein, Kamed el Loz) and Beirut southern suburb (Hareit Hreik) where students are sent to the Public schools in the after noon to receive extensive sessions in Arabic, English/French, and Maths. The ALP intends to help drop-out students fit back in the schooling curriculum.
2. Child Protection Programme: in collaboration with UNICEF, Child Protection programme aims at giving the children psycho-social support and relief from stress. Children in centers in Beirut southern suburbs (Burj el Brajneh and Hay el Selloum) and in Bekaa (Ersal, El Ein, Mashgara, and Kamed el Loz) receive animation sessions, as well as art and music therapy, drama therapy, sessions with the psychologists, as well as other kinds of support and sessions.