As part of UNICEF’s field visits to Baalbeck–Hermel to oversee the implementation of UNICEF/LOST projects in the region and assess the impact these projects have on Syrian refugees and the hosting community alike, UNICEF Irish Natcom Good Will Ambassador Mr. Donnacha O’Callaghan and a team of reporters paid a subsequent visit to the Lebanese Organization of Studies and Training (LOST) on March 11, 2015.
After an overarching and extensive explanation of the approaches utilized by LOST to mitigate tensions between the hosting community and the Syrian refugees in the region, the Irish delegation and LOST staff members visited an Informal Tental Settlement (ITS) in Hawsh Rafka to attend a merge activity, where Lebanese youth on a weekly basis visit Syrian evacuees and conduct some recreational, educational, and cultural exercises. “These exercises represent a sense of human responsibility and empathy on part of the Lebanese youth towards the Syrians”, a trainer at LOST asserts. The delegation then interviewed some youth, Syrian and Lebanese, and led short meetings with parents and siblings. At the end of the day, the delegation saluted LOST’s for their valuable endeavors to promote for a culture of social cohesion and conflict transformation and prospected a longer-term partnership with UNICEF.
