Syria crisis response

The Syrian crisis has led to a large number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugees. At the end of September this figure stood at around 2 million IDPs in Syria and 400,000 refugees in neighboring countries. Most of these people depend on humanitarian assistance, or sharing host families’ dwindling resources to meet basic needs. This figure is growing daily and has led to a doubling of people in need in the last couple of months.

AMURT & AMURTEL has local volunteers in Syria and Lebanon distributing food, non-food items and providing assistance with medical and educational needs. In Lebanon, AMURT runs case management services for refugee families hosted by their friends and relatives in the mountain villages overlooking Beirut. The AMURT team selects the most urgent cases and works patiently to meet their individual needs, be they getting a child admitted to a local school, finding a hospital willing to provide urgent medical care or connecting them with larger agencies and their services. .

Many of the refugees have harrowing tales to tell. Mohammed, a grandfather, took shelter with relatives in western Syria, but had trouble even getting bread as the streets were too dangerous to enter. He used his savings to pay an extortionate fee to a driver to take him across the border. “It was like escaping from jail,” Mohammed said. “The driver took a lot of money because we could die in the street.” We have organized much-needed medical supplies and winter items for Mohammed and his family.

AMURT is appealing for funds to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of refugees seeking our assistance.

Download current proposal: Syrian refugees in Lebanon – general proposal (version 3 – October 29)