The latest from Room to Read in Lebanon

By Dina Elabd
Room to Read Project Manager in the Middle East

The summer months in Lebanon were full of tension as devastating images and stories from Southern Lebanon reached the Bekaa Valley, where Room to Read has worked with our regional partner, the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST), to implement 15 child-friendly libraries in nonformal education centers.  

Roughly 70,000 families displaced from Southern Lebanon had moved to the Bekaa Valley region in recent months, and our libraries were seeing an increase in attendance. The socio-emotional learning sessions conducted by Room to Read were well received by both children and educators and the content was being implemented into Room to Read’s library programming. Room to Read’s Modern Standard Arabic language storybooks helped fill the shelves of hundreds of reading corners and learning spaces in schools and community centers across the country. Our team in Lebanon shared heartfelt stories of children asking for more education, hoping this was a chance for them to attend school. Through a partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Education, Room to Read had a plan in place to distribute our books to all public schools in the country before the end of the year. 





All changed in September.   

As the Middle East crisis spurred war in Lebanon, evacuation warnings were issued and LOST called for an immediate week-long halt to all educational programming to ensure staff safety and to implement emergency plans. Approximately two million people were displaced in Lebanon during this time. Many of our LOST partners realized quickly they did not have a home to return to.  

Within that week, it became immediately obvious that our partners were suffering. I reached out to the LOST Founder Dr. Rami to see what Room to Read could do to help. He told me that “the situation is bad, worse than anything you can imagine.”  

People were sleeping in the streets, he reported, and under trees. Highways were blocked, borders closed. Yet amongst the panic grew the fight to survive. 

Many LOST employees began gathering to prepare daily meals to address what has become a critical food shortage. All schools in the country have transformed into shelters. Room to Read’s longtime partner UNICEF began distributing food, as well as emergency psycho-social relief kits to children. Immediately, I worked with our team to reallocate our funds to support these activities. 

On October 5, 2024, Room to Read signed an amendment to our partnership with LOST, making clear that we will provide:

• Food support with 25,000 hot meals going to families in the Bekaa Valley at a cost of USD $2/meal
  
• 10,000 emergency educational support kits, each containing five Room to Read storybooks in Modern Standard Arabic, one sketchbook, a set of 12 colored pencils and a sharpener
  
• Online training resources for educators and volunteers on how to provide psycho-social support to children in crisis contexts, including resources focusing on social-emotional learning through the process of reading books aloud. The teacher trainings Room to Read has conducted over the past two years are apparent now more than ever as we see photos of educators leading children in reading sessions across Lebanon.

As I write this, the meals have all been distributed and the emergency packs printed and received in Room to Read’s local warehouse, prepared for distribution.




When Room to Read began this work in Lebanon in 2022, we worked hard to address the learning gaps of children who had escaped from Syria to Lebanon and lost years of their education. Room to Read’s programming supported these children in free, nonformal education centers, and helped ensure they were prepared to re-enter the public school system.

The steps we take to ensure education endures in emergency contexts provide children solace, comfort and consistency. Our books aren’t only supporting the development of strong literacy skills. They are also helping children work through challenging emotions during this traumatic time.

For children living through crisis, having access to education creates a path to hope and encourages determination... determination to reach their educational potential and have a future that they choose for themselves. 

The work we've done in Lebanon in recent years — and throughout the Middle East region over the past decade — has enabled us to respond rapidly and appropriately to this crisis. Support from community members like you will ensure this work continues.  

On behalf of my team and our partners, I would like to express our deep thanks for your support of these children’s access to education. 

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