Only 1 square kilometer, Ein El-Helweh is home to nearly 70,000 refugees. The Palestinian refugee camp has witnessed rounds of violence over the years that led to a stressful environment for its residents, in particular to the children growing up in that space.
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The walls of the camp, especially the school walls, are pierced with bullet holes. Our team on the ground has responded to the violence reaching the schools by teaming up with the Lebanese Red Cross and UNRWA for a school evacuation project.
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The ICRC has launched a community-based program to create a more comfortable space for the children.
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The ICRC’s Street Art project began with the team asking the children what they’d like to see decorating the walls of the camp.
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Later, the children voted on their own for the different proposals put forward by two artists and picked images that reflect the messages they’re like to get across on safety, inclusion and childhood.
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“We would like to be able to walk to school while feeling safe. No bullets – no bullying,” is what one of the children told an ICRC staff member.
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This project revealed a lot of hidden talents among the children who found joy in art and colors.
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Following the launch of this project many children started coming to Alwan Center, a center in the heart of Ein El-Helweh where the ICRC runs several programs for the youth.
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When the murals were finished, some kids told our team members that they would like to create murals of their own in their neighborhoods and even homes.
As part of its project to provide safe spaces for children in Ein el-Helweh, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) teamed up with a local artist and children from the camp to add some colour to the walls.
Ein el-Helweh, a Palestinian refugee camp in Saida, has witnessed several rounds of violence over the years and has often left children without a safe space to play, study or simply meet.
In this project, the ICRC consulted the real experts of fun in the camp: the children. Our team sat with the kids and asked them what they'd like to see on the walls of the camp and what they'd like to paint. We also asked them about messages they'd like to send to members of their community and other kids.
The children then voted for their favourite artist and for the pictures they liked. The two images selected reflected messages of inclusion and the right to play.
Children shouldn't have to worry about getting to school safely or finding a safe space to play, but this is the reality for many kids in Ein el-Helweh.
