ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) is pleased to announce a partnership with Reach Out To Asia (ROTA).  ROTA will be contributing $287,500 to the partnership which aims to expand non-formal education for youth in Nahr el Bared, Lebanon.  The project will significantly enhance ANERA's program in marginalized communities in northern Lebanon that provide vocational and life skills through vocational and non-formal education activities.

The 18-month program includes vocational training and non-formal education through community-based organizations.  More than 300 young people will benefit directly from the education program.services.  The National Institute of Social Care and Vocational Training (NISCVT) is another key implementing partner in the project.  NISCVT will be enhancing their program and will provide vocational training to the youth in the area.  Other grassroots organizations will also participate in the project, engaging youth in non-formal education activities.

"Our goal is to help give young men and women in these marginalized communities the necessary tools to build their future through practical education in effective formal and non-formal settings," says ANERA president Bill Corcoran.

Three months of shelling and bombing in the camp in 2007 left 60 percent of the buildings and 80 percent of the homes severely damaged or destroyed.  In partnership with local organizations  ANERA helped rebuild a community center in the camp, a vocational training center, establish a playground for children in addition to other health work and sanitation projects.  But community leaders were concerned about rebuilding the camp's human potential as well.  In response, ANERA has focused much of its work on educating youth and providing opportunities for employment and personal growth. 

ABOUT ROTA:

Reach Out To Asia is a non-profit organization launched in December 2005 in Doha, Qatar, by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, daughter of His Highness the Emir of Qatar. Operating under the auspices of the Qatar Foundation, ROTA is committed to providing high quality and relevant primary and secondary education, encouraging relationships among communities, creating safe learning environments and restoring education in crisis affected areas across Asia and around the world. ROTA envisions a world, where all young people have access to the education they need in order for them to realize their full potential and shape the development of their communities.

Learn more about ROTA

ABOUT ANERA:

For more than 40 years, ANERA has been a leading provider of development, health, education and employment programs to Palestinian communities and impoverished families throughout the Middle East.  In FY 2009, the relief and development agency delivered more than $50 million of programs to the people of the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan