"WV micro-credits in Borj el Chemali camp as part of a social and economic development programme || Newspapers (Arabic)

The Borj el Chemali refugee camp suffers from chronic unemployment as well as limited work opportunities which are limited to low income seasonal labor.  According to NGO sources, 70% of its residents work as hired field laborers in Tyre area.  Camp residents suffer from various legal constraints, no major economic enterprise within the camp and a shrinking of UNRWA services.  In order to tackle some of these issues, the World Vision, a US organization, launched an initiative with the Arab Union of Palestinian Women aiming at improving the health, nutrition, and educational status of children in the camps as well as in its nearby agglomerations.  The initiative was launched during a public event organized by the Centre for Palestinian Youth in the camp and with the presence of various Palestinian organizations.
The project will extend over a 4 years period and will target 197 beneficiaries from the camp and the nearby agglomerations.  It will provide support to business initiative and will help it to expand as well as create a more conducive environment for growth.  It will seek to help women to have an effective role in the community. The two organizations will provide technical support to business holders through a team of business counselors and will build the skills of the beneficiaries through providing them with business information, linking them with the market, training them in negotiation skills, project management and planning and in resources mobilization.  The project also includes the provision of micro credits to support the creation of new businesses.
Source: Al-Nahar 31 January 2013