Polish aid

Their efforts were focused on supporting development activities in the areas of human capital, entrepreneurship, private sector, protection of the environment, and humanitarian aid (providing shelter and medical care to the most deprived).

Activities supporting urban space

The most urgent need and challenge in 2020 was the reconstruction of the Beirut municipal infrastructure destroyed in the explosion. For this reason, Poland decided to increase its financing of the project to support the hosting community and refugees from the Maraach neighbourhood in the Bourj Hammoud quarter of Beirut, which is located a few hundred metres from the explosion centre. A project to revitalise the urban infrastructure was implemented by UN HABITAT and the Polish Centre for International Aid (PCIA) and assumed improving the quality and conditions of living of the population residing in that area.

The Maraach neighborhood is considered one of the poorer sections of the city due to overpopulation, inadequate housing and underdeveloped local economy. The neighbourhood includes 90 residential and commercial buildings housing a permanent population of over 1,000.

The project consisted of three components: restoration of the urban infrastructure (renovation of building façades, reconstruction of the electric grid, extension of the sewage system); provision of alternative, renewable energy sources (solar cells to light up alleys and common areas); and fire protection (delivery of a fire engine and training on reacting to crisis situations). The final activities in the project will be completed by mid-2021.

Counteracting the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic

The background for Polish aid in Lebanon in 2020 was the spreading COVID-19 pandemic. In the middle of the year, Poland decided to disburse additional financial means to prevent and combat the coronavirus epidemic in the country.

One of the projects furthering this objective assumed improving the professional situation of a group of Syrian and Palestinian refugees and the Lebanese hosting community that has been the most affected by the consequences of the pandemic and was implemented on site by a local partner in cooperation with the Polish Humanitarian Action.

The project led to building a training centre in the Bourj el-Barajneh refugee camp, offering classes on basic life skills for children and youth and professional training on business, entrepreneurship, robotics, 3D printing and/or software development for adults.

The intervention reinforced the Lebanese entrepreneurship and professional activity sector and offered new possibilities for employment of persons at risk of social exclusion, especially women and the young.

The Polish government’s immediate reaction to grant support to Lebanon following the 4 August 2020 explosion was very cordially received by the local community. Just two days after the accident, Poland dispatched the MUSAR search and rescue group to Beirut and also used the Material Reserves Agency, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to provide medicines, equipment and medical supplies to the Rafik Hariri hospital in Beirut, the basic facility used to treat the Lebanese COVID-19 patients.

Environmental protection and education

Polish activities in Lebanon in 2020 also included efforts to protect the environment.

Such efforts involved, among others, a project to support the renewable energy sources sector by installing a solar-powered water heating system at the Catholic Antonine Social Orientation School for orphaned children in Mrouj. As part of this activity, children were also trained on the importance of clear water for man and the natural environment, with particular emphasis of preventing the spread of infectious diseases.

The project supported the development of green technologies and the renewable energy sector in Lebanon and lowered the current costs of running the school by providing the institution with an alternative energy source. The project benefited 135 children attending the school and 35 staff members. Completing the project improved the teaching experience. The beneficiaries also obtained new knowledge on hygiene, green technologies, and environmental protection. The intervention was addressed to everyone regardless of origin, gender, race and creed; the project contributed to promoting the right to health and education and also to creating an environment supportive to health.

Another project implemented by PCIA in northern Lebanon provided for comprehensive support for the Akkar province local communities affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis. The activity included extending the health care system – the Al-Quobaiyat hospital set up a zone to admit COVID-19 patients and received a ventilator. Assistance was also provided to local cooperatives, especially those from the agricultural and food sector whose business broke down due to the economic crisis. The project also provided for further extension of the Al-Quobaiyat sewage treatment plant and development of the water and sewage network in the region. These activities resulted in greatly strengthening the Lebanese entrepreneurship sector and professional activity and offered new possibilities for employment to inhabitants of the region, especially women and the young who are just entering the labour market.

The water and sewage infrastructure of public schools in Lebanon is poorly developed, with obsolete cisterns and water filtering systems. For this reason, in 2020, Polish aid together with the Tripoli Cosmopolis Rotary Club supplied water filtering systems to six Lebanese public schools. The project, which contributed to checking the spread of disease and improving the quality of education, is part of a larger water filtering scheme pursued by the Rotary Club of Lebanon around the country. An important part of the intervention was training children on the importance of clear water for man and the natural environment, which is especially important in the context of the ongoing pandemic.

Medical care

Another important area of the Polish activity in Lebanon in 2020 was medical aid granted to people living in informal encampments and refugee gatherings. Each year, the scope of medical services provided with the help of PCIA in both the local Bire clinic and a mobile clinic is extended. The mobile clinic, supported for years by Polish aid, is still bringing aid to the most deprived in refugee camps in northern Lebanon.

Despite difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Beirut port explosion, support received by Lebanon through the Polish aid programme will be extended in the future. In 2021, Polish aid plans to continue the previous projects and undertake new humanitarian and development interventions in the entrepreneurship, education and environmental protection sectors.

Prepared by the Polish Embassy in Beirut