BURJ EL-BARAJNEH REFUGEE CAMP

Burj el-Barajneh camp is situated near Beirut International Airport in south Beirut. It was established by the League of Red Cross Societies in 1948 to accommodate Palestinian refugees from the Galilee in northern Palestine.

The camp suffered extensive property damage and displacement of nearly a quarter of its population during the years of civil conflict.

The men mainly work as casual labourers or manual workers and women find work in sewing factories and as cleaners.

UNRWA, with support from ECHO rehabilitated 2 shelters in 2003 for refugee families registered as special hardship cases and non SHCs.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• There are 20, 405 registered Palestine refugees;
• 500 families of 1630 persons are registered as S.H.Cs.
• One UNRWA health centre with an average of 168 patients per day;
• Seven UNRWA elementary/preparatory schools for 2,511 enrolled pupils in 2003/2004;

One community managed women's programme centre that runs skill-training courses, literacy for women and tutoring classes for students, organizes awareness raising sessions on health, social, legal, human rights and gender issues and coordinates with local NGOs to respond to community needs. Income generation loans and group guaranteed lending are also provided to women.

In addition to the facilities UNRWA provides, a number of NGOs are active in Burj el-Barajneh, including the Palestinian Martyrs' Association, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, Najdeh, Al-Ina'sh, Beit Atfal Al-Soumoud and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Women's Humanitarian Organization, Brotherhood Institution for Social Education. The Disability Programme carried out needs assessment for the local KGs in coordination with the Women's Humanitarian Organization and Norwegian People's Aid to identify children with special needs enrolled in the KGs for further necessary intervention. The inhabitants of the camp have access to the RSSD loan and soft loan schemes.