Manama: Qatar's Reach Out To Asia (Rota) has awarded a $280,000 (Dh1.03 million) grant to the American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) to advance training for Palestinian and Lebanese refugees.
The grant will improve formal and non-formal education of tens of thousands of displaced Arabs in non-Palestinian territories, particularly in refugee camps and gatherings in Lebanon over a period of 18 months.
"Rota's grant will support vocational training programmes, free of charge, for (refugee) camp residents," said John Viste, Anera's Country Director in Lebanon. "Rota-funded training will empower refugees to enhance their skills in order to support their families," he said, quoted by Qatari daily The Peninsula.
The training will encompass hands-on activities that include carpentry and hair dressing in addition to knowledge-based programmes on information technology, graphic designing, teacher training and secretarial programmes.
It will also improve the quality of existing vocational training programmes in non-Palestinian territories.
"The training will serve the surrounding area because camps were destroyed. Most of those receiving the training will be non-traditional students," Viste said, referring to around one million Lebanese displaced during the 2006 Lebanon War among over a million Palestinian refugees ousted from Palestine. The refugees were forced to drop out of school after they were displaced during the unrest.
By training Palestinians alongside Lebanese, Anera aims to promote understanding between the two groups.
Viste foresees potential for Lebanese laws to open up the labour market to absorb more Palestinian workers after some sectors, such as the medical field, have traditionally been closed.
The grant from Rota emphasises Qatar's dedication to supporting displaced refugees through Anera. Last month, Qatar was lauded for its second consecutive $1 million (Dh3.68 million) contribution to Anera's "Milk for Preschoolers" programme, which provides fortified milk and biscuits a day to 20,000 children in Gaza.
