Country Facts:
- Capital city – Beirut
- Population – 5.4 million
- Life expectancy – 78.3 years
- Unemployment rate – 6.17%
- Below poverty line – 27.8%
Find more country facts on: CIA The World Factbook –Lebanon
Habitat Facts
- Habitat started in Lebanon in 2001.
- Individuals served in FY2019 – 32,750
- Through incremental building – 10
- Through market development – 30,945
- Through rehabilitation work – 30
- Through repairs – 1,720
- Volunteers engaged in FY2019 – 18
The housing need in Lebanon
Seventeen years of civil war devastated the country’s infrastructure, economy and society. From 1975 to 1991 an estimated 1 million people were displaced by fighting, and hundreds of thousands were injured, killed or disappeared. The damage to property alone was around US$25 billion.
A war in 2006 displaced another 1 million people and damaged more than 100,000 homes. Reconstruction costs sunk the country into deep debt, and the tumultuous political landscape continues to prevent full economic recovery. Rapid urbanization has resulted in ghettos in Beirut and other cities. Also, the influx of over1.5 million Syrian refugees since 2011 has exhausted Lebanon’s fragile economy.
How Habitat addresses the need
Housing microfinance program
Responding to the widespread but unmet demand for low-income families to have access to affordable housing/shelter loan products, Habitat Lebanon runs a housing microfinance program offering microloans to people who would otherwise not have access to credit.
Orphans and Vulnerable Groups program
This project benefits families headed by widowed individuals, single mothers, or by disabled caregivers. Families repay small, subsidized loans, with repayment schedules adjusted to their financial circumstances, and contribute volunteer labor as construction allows. The program also offers a series of trainings for homeowners in financial literacy.
Housing program for refugees
Families in need of housing aid are supported through home rehabilitation. Criteria for selection include women-headed families, elderly people living alone and people with disabilities.
School repairs
This program assists in the integration of more school-aged refugees into the formal system through renovated schools that run second shifts to accommodate children from refugee families.
Disaster response
In response to the Syrian refugee crisis and in effort to contribute towards their improved living conditions, Habitat Lebanon focuses on:
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Housing repairs and renovations for refugee and vulnerable host communities.
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Rehabilitation of unfinished buildings that could host refugee families while also benefiting the Lebanese homeowners.
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Waster and sanitation support for vulnerable households.
What you can do
DONATE
Go to habitat.org/donate and designate your gift to Habitat Lebanon.
TITHE
Establish a strong and rewarding tithe partnership to help build houses globally. Quote 866800, LEBANON on your checks sent to: Habitat for Humanity International, Attn: Affiliate Tithe, 322 W. Lamar St. Americus, GA 31709
CONTACT
