JRS/USA is thrilled to announce we have a donor who will match gifts given to our Giving Tuesday campaign. This year, on December 3rd, we need to raise $30,000, all of which will be matched, to help eliminate barriers to education for refugee children in Lebanon. Your contribution can help by providing transportation to almost 650 students who need it at JRS schools in Lebanon.

Last Giving Tuesday, you helped us exceed our goals and were able to raise almost $60,000 to feed refugee students at our schools in Lebanon.

Education during times of conflict and crisis provides vulnerable children an opportunity to re-build their communities and create more hopeful futures. One of the most significant barriers to access to education is safe and reliable transportation. Schools provide the stability that they need to heal from the loss, fear, stress, and violence experienced during times of crisis. Only 50 percent of refugee children attend primary school, one of the reasons enrollment rates are low is the distance a child must travel to school – an overall lack of transportation. This is particularly true for refugee girls, who are already at a disadvantage for access to education.

JRS has been implementing education programs for refugees in Lebanon since 2012. JRS Lebanon’s education programs, which served 3,900 refugees or displaced people last year, focuses on early childhood (Kindergarten to 5 years old), formal basic education, and learning support (6 to 15 years old) in both urban and rural areas. JRS addresses gaps in access to quality education for children by enhancing school enrollment and performance in Lebanese institutions, or offering quality formal education in areas where access to public schools is hindered by limited capacities and/or distance.

There are more than 1.5 million refugees in Lebanon, many of whom are children who do not have access to formal education in Lebanon. The transportation costs for just one school can be as high as $32,000/year, so a matched gift would allow us to provide safe and reliable transportation for a full year at two schools. With your support this Giving Tuesday, we can give more students a seat in the classroom.

Will you help us provide safe and reliable transportation to Lebanese refugee students?