Refugee Relief

The Palestinian refugee crisis is the oldest and most drawn out in the world. There are now more than 5 million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA across the Middle East. Many who experienced the Nakba in 1948 have since witnessed up to four successive generations endure further displacement, poverty and refugeehood.

Refugee camps across Jordan and Lebanon are overcrowded, cramped and unsafe. Poor infrastructure, contaminated water and dangerous electrical networks leave families at constant risk as they contend with soaring levels of poverty and deprivation.

UK Care for Children’s Refugee Relief Programme focuses on shelter support, clean water access, food aid, financial aid and emergency medical support. We provide a vital lifeline to some of the most vulnerable families in need and ensure that thousands of children and their families are looked after.

THE NAKBA

• In 1948, between 750,000 and 900,000 Palestinian men, women and children were driven out of their homes to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, neighbouring Arab countries, and other parts of the world.
• Palestinians who fled the Nakba were exiled in the refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Today, their descendants still live in these camps.
• The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was created in 1949 to respond to the needs of the Palestinian refugees. Today UNRWA still provides education, healthcare and social services to over 5 million refugees.
• Approximately 62 refugee camps were set up across Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. There are also unofficial ‘gatherings’ or camps that house refugees.
• Refugee camps are severely overcrowded, and residents do not have adequate access to clean water and sanitation.
• Electrical wires and exposed water piping criss-cross and often lead to residents being electrocuted. Overall, the camps are unsafe with poor infrastructure and services.