Personnel of QRC mission in Lebanon distribute food to Syrian refugees. Right: QRC personnel arriving at a refugee camp in Lebanon to provide assistance to Syrian refugees.
The Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) mission in Lebanon has launched the year-round “Charitable Catering” project in the northeastern town of Arsal to serve 730,000 meals to Syrian refugees.
The launching of the project also aims to help achieve food security for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and create jobs for the local workforce.
Charitable Catering is the first product of the joint-humanitarian action of the Gulf Red Crescent Societies in favour of distressed Syrians under the recommendations of the second meeting of the committee of top officials of Red Crescent Societies in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) held last November in Kuwait.
After the meeting, a delegation of representatives of the GCC National Societies visited Lebanon in December 2014 to examine the most urgent needs of Syrian refugees and GCC co-ordinated future relief projects that could address the issue.
The project was conducted in partnership with the Irshad & Islah Islamic Beneficent Association in Lebanon, which supplied food items and cooking equipment, developed the lists of beneficiaries, and cooked and packaged the meals. QRC’s participation involved funding, rehabilitation of the cooking facilities, and distribution of meals to Syrian families all over Arsal.
At the onset of Ramadan, the kitchen started working to provide 2,020 meals for Syrian refugees every day. It will continue to serve meals after Ramadan until June 2016, providing more than 730,000 meals over one year. Currently, 24,000 meals have already been served.
Omar Katerji, head of QRC mission in Lebanon, said the project addresses the needs of Syrians in Arsal, which witnessed clashes by the end of 2014. It also aims to fill the gap caused by the drop in humanitarian assistance by international organisations, he added.
According to Katerji, “Arsal’s 42,000 refugees are not covered by the financial aid programme of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which adds to their suffering.”
