Looking into the Brightside

A cheerful, happy enthusiastic 32 years’ Palestinian woman Suzan, walks around the camp surveying cases in an attempt to serve her community in Beddawi camp, north Lebanon. Based on UNRWA Lebanon, Beddawi camp was established in 1955 and is located on a hill some 5 kilometers north-east of Tripoli. Throughout its first five decades, the camp attracted large numbers of...

Getting out of my Comfort Zone

A divorcee woman, a mother of an eleven years old boy, at the age of 27 waiting for her father to give her allowance. That’s how Walaa describes her situation before joining to be one of the 120 women working in community kitchens to produce and distribute hot meals to food insecure households in Ein el Hilwe, Beddawi and Rashidieh...

Women in Lebanon join forces to fight food poverty in their communities

“This community kitchen came as an opportunity for all the women at the camp to have the chance to work, help their community, and learn new skills. There is nothing better than bringing people together to serve their community.” 27-year-old, Mariam works as a kitchen manager at an established women-led community kitchen in Beddawi Palestinian Refugee camp in Tripoli. The community...

Women Supporting Women

One hundred and twenty women are engaged in the preparation and distribution of hot meals for vulnerable families living in Ein el Hilweh camp (Saida) and Beddawi camp (Tripoli) under “Empowering Women And Addressing Food Insecurity Through Women-Led Community Kitchens Project.”. The project is implemented by INITIATE in partnership with Women Program Association (WPA), with support from UN Women, funded...

Starting With Fresh Eyes

“It took me few days to realize how bad the situation in my community is,” says Safa, “before joining the project, I thought I knew my community and surroundings well.  Honestly, I thought we were all managing these harsh situations in the same way. I realized that the situation was much worse than it seemed. My neighbors, whom I thought...