A new start for Inter Campus Lebanon

BEIRUT - Othman, Bilal, Mohamed, Khalil and Issa from the local 'Ahlam Laje’ association train and work with a group of Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese boys and girls who live at the Shatila Refugee Camp in the heart of Beirut.

The Palestinian children attend UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine) while the Syrians go to a specific school in the afternoon and the Lebanese children attend state schools. However, they can all play football together on the only pitch that is available in the area.

The situation in the refugee camps is extremely precarious, both in terms of terms of hygiene and security. There are no suitable spaces for play or recreation so Inter Campus and Anera work to provide a safe space where children can have fun and learn in a constructive manner.

As always during our missions, our coaches/teachers also held a training course for local coaches in addition to going out on the pitch with the youngsters in the Nerazzurri colours. This allows them to share the Inter Campus methodology so that it can be applied in the tough surroundings of Shatila, where Othman and the others grew up themselves.

The mission was brought to a close with a meeting featuring some of the Inter Campus children’s parents where we had the opportunity to present the project and gather some positive feedback about its impact.