The Hay El Sellom district of Southern Beirut is considered by many to be one of the most
underprivileged, marginalized, and at-risk neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital. Its 20,000 local Lebanese inhabitants have now become the hosts of 10,000 Syrian refugees that have made Hay El Sellom their temporary home.
Amel has maintained a presence in this area of the capital since 1980 when its center first
opened there. Over the years, Amel has adapted the programs and projects at the center to constantly adapt to the region’s most pressing needs, be it woman empowerment through vocational training, primary healthcare through the provision of urgent medical support, or more recently the implementation of child protection and psycho-social activities in this area.
Amel has been implementing child protection activities since 2011, aiming at improving the psycho-social wellbeing of both Lebanese and Syrian children, women and men as well as work on preventing and responding to various child protection risks such as early marriage and child labor.
Within the framework of the CP program in Hay el Sellom in partnership with UNICEF, a child protection committee has been working on , received various training in order to
identify and refer highly vulnerable CP cases, to raise awareness about important CP risks
within their community and to be primary actors in their own protection. This CP committee
worked on implementing a community initiative in order to address an important CP risk within their community: The establishment of street lights in a busy Hay el Sellom street that is used by children and caregivers day and night, protecting and making children and women feel safer while walking through this road.
In addition to the streetlights, the center also set up a permanent donation box. Whatever is to be donated to the box will be added to an itinerary maintained by the Amel center staff, who at the end of the month will also distribute these items to the neighborhood’s most vulnerable families. In addition, and with the aim of improving social solidarity and responsibility, the donation box can be used by the inhabitants of Hay El Sellom to exchange clothes, shoes, and other necessities.
During the 2018 year, a total of 3,877 children participated in community based PSS activities. 500 children participated in focused PSS activities, while 2,296 adults participated in the parenting skills activities.
