Near East Foundation Announces Clinton Global Initiative Commitment To Action To Support Syrian Refugees And Host Communities

"Siraj Centers" in Jordan and Lebanon will provide safe spaces to build economic self-reliance among refugee women, vulnerable Lebanese and Jordanians

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Near East Foundation

May 08, 2015, 10:44 ET

MARRAKECH, Morocco, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Near East Foundation (NEF) announced at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Middle East & Africa Meeting its Commitment to Action to build economic resilience among urban refugees and poor members of their host communities in Jordan and Lebanon.

In partnership with local community organizations, NEF will establish three support centers to equip more than 2,000 people with the tools and training for dignified, long-term economic self-sufficiency through small business grants, skills training and community support.

The Syrian refugee crisis has plunged more than 170,000 Lebanese into poverty and is exerting stresses on Jordan's stretched resources, costing the government $7 billion to date. Meanwhile, 70 percent of Syrian refugees are food insecure and 77 percent are in debt, pushing many families to resort to harmful earning strategies. Children contribute nearly half of household incomes among refugee families living outside camps, and a quarter of refugee families are headed by women, many of whom are earning for the first time.

Building on NEF's successful work with Iraqi refugees in Zarqa, Jordan, the Siraj Centers, named for the Arabic word for "lantern," will provide a safe space for women refugees and poor members of host communities to come together and extend mutual support. Jordanian and Lebanese participants will also be eligible to compete for grants to start-up or expand small businesses. For refugees, whose right to work in formal sectors is limited, Siraj Centers will provide economic and livelihood services such as life skills, vocational and financial literacy training, as well as cash assistance.

About the Near East Foundation:

The Near East Foundation helps build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East and Africa. NEF has worked with refugees since it was founded in 1915 in response to the Armenian Genocide, and has organized relief and development projects in Lebanon and Jordan since the 1930s. For the past 100 years, NEF has worked to provide vulnerable and disenfranchised populations with the skills and resources they need in order to fully engage and prosper in their own communities and economies. For more information, visit www.neareast.org.

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SOURCE Near East Foundation