Prime Minister Saad Hariri together with UN Special Coordinator Sigrid Kaag and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Philippe Lazzarini, formally launched today the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan 2017-2020 at the Grand Serail. As the conflict in Syria approaches its seventh year, the Government of Lebanon and its national and international partners appealed for US $2.8bn to provide critical humanitarian assistance and protection as well as invest in Lebanon’s public infrastructure, services and local economy in 2017

We are pleased to share with you the seventh issue of our newsletter highlighting the achievements of the UNDP project “Improving Living Condition in Palestinian Gatherings Host Communities” between October and December 2016. Issued on a quarterly basis, this newsletter aims at updating stakeholders in Gatherings on our project progress, while exposing the dire needs of these communities.

28 local reporters and journalists from Saida and South Lebanon, eagerly participated in a meeting organized by Maharat Foundation in partnership with the UNDP “Peace Building in Lebanon” project funded by UKDFID on December 8th, 2016 in Saida Rest House.

Following 9 months of joint efforts with UNRWA, UNDP presents the “WASH-friendly School Toolkit” to serve as an activity guide for all service providers aiming to transfer WASH-related life skills to children (6 to 17 years), particularly health educators and teachers in UNRWA schools. Developed by the UNDP project in consultation with the UNRWA education and health departments and tested with 17 health educators of UNRWA schools in North Lebanon, the toolkit exposes common WASH risky behaviors and promotes green and healthy practices through classroom and extra–curricular activities to be implemented on the occasion of five WASH-related UN observances. Made possible thanks to the generous support of PRM, the Swiss Embassy’s ICD and the people of Japan, this toolkit comprises 5 modules, each dedicated to one WASH-related observance, in addition to a user guide and a CD to access online resources.

he idea of bringing smiles to children’s lives is the reason behind the efforts for making this project a reality. The “El Marj Cultural Centre and Theatre” is 300m2 in size and accommodates around 150 persons. Before the implementation of the project, El Marj village had no space for the youth to broaden their interests and take-up after school activities, which are essential for personal growth.

Despite major social and economic challenges facing their village, the youth of El-Khiara in West Bekaa have not given up their passion for playing sports, especially football. Lebanese and Syrian youth and adults play football on a daily basis, but a special game was held on October 1, 2016.

Under the patronage of His Excellency Nabih Berri, speaker of the Parliament, the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized a conference yesterday, on Wednesday the 30th of November 2016, entitled “Legal Framework for Parliamentary Elections” at Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut. The conference was attended by a large number of MPs, ministers, ambassadors, representatives of diplomatic delegations, experts and representatives of the media and civil society.

The third largest city in Lebanon and the beating heart of Saida, Old Saida is being rejuvenated with a new project that sheds light on the city’s cherished destinations: the Old Saida Waterfront. The installation of 115 solar powered lighting poles at this main attraction in the city restored the faded glow to the area and brought back the heydays.

The Water Conference was organized by Dr. Rami Lakkis Founder of The Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST) and was held at Tammooz hall, Ras El Ain, Baalbek on Wednesday, 30 November 2016 from 10:00am until 2:30pm. Around 200 people attended the conference ranging from Local Communities, Municipalities, Government Officials, Military Officials, Governor of Baalbek-Hermel, DG Bekaa Water Establishment (BWE), UN Agencies, Swiss Embassy, Netherlands Embassy, NGO’s and UNDP was represented by Mr. Gebran Azar (Water Projects Coordinator-Ministry of Energy & Water) and accompanied by Mr. Mazen Shamas (Site Engineer-Bekaa Office) from LHSP (Lebanon Host Communities Support Project).