Right To Play in Lebanon

Since 2006, Right to Play been working closely with local and international partners to deliver high quality education and child protection programs for children and youth affected by multiple crises.

Today, we offer programs in rural and urban regions in Lebanon. Through mutual partnerships, we ensure children, adolescents and young people– especially those affected by the multiple crisis – can benefit from high quality education programs and receive psychosocial support.

In 2024, we reached more than 20,000 children, young people, teachers, community facilitators/coaches, and caregivers through program and community interventions, including 14,000 children and young people.​

Right To Play Lebanon's 2024-26 program priorities

• Support teachers and school leadership to create safe, inclusive and
  active learning environments in formal and non-formal education settings;
• Provide play-based psychosocial support to children coping with the effects of conflict;
• Equip parents and caregivers with playful methods to support their children’s learning and well-being;
• Build strong partnerships with donors, government, and local organizations to expand our non-formal education program to reach more children and young people;
• Generate evidence on the impact of play on children’s learning and development;
• Collaborate with local agencies to integrate play-based learning methods and approaches into education and community development.

Challenges and Opportunities in Lebanon

Approximately 24% of Lebanon's population is aged 14 or younger. This translates to roughly 1.4 million children.

Youth in Lebanon face many challenges, including poverty and a lack of opportunities. Children in Lebanon struggle with high rates of anxiety and depression resulting from decades of conflict and economic and political instability. Despite the high literacy rate and the importance placed on education, school drop-out rates, especially in refugee communities, are high. Public schools often struggle with outdated curricula, insufficient resources, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of learning materials and trained teachers. The influx of children experiencing displacement has placed further strain on the system, leading to disparities in educational access and quality.

There are opportunities to improve primary education in Lebanon through programs that equip parents, caregivers, and teachers in formal and non-formal educational settings with the tools and knowledge to support children's learning and development through play. Play-based psychosocial support programs can help children cope with and recover from trauma and return to learning. Youth leadership programs can help young people develop essential skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication. These programs also help them gain confidence and a sense of empowerment to enable them take initiative and drive positive change in their communities.

Key Statistics:

• Lebanon hosts a significant number of refugees, including approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees and 211,400 Palestinian refugees as of 2023;
• More than half of Syrian children who are refugees in Lebanon are unable to pursue their primary education due to economic hardships and other related factors;
• Almost half of the school-aged Syrian children are out of education, with 30% having never attended school;
• In recent years, there has been a 55% increase in the number of Palestinian students dropping out of school;
• Nearly 7 in 10 caregivers report their children are anxious or worried, and close to half say that their children frequently feel very sad or depressed;

Key Activities and Impact

In Beirut, North Lebanon, South Lebanon, and Bekaa, we're engaging youth in activities that promote acceptance, social cohesion and peaceful coexistence through the Working for Engagement, Acceptance and Mediation (WE’AM) project. Supported by the European Union and delivered in a consortium led by Oxfam and in partnership with the organizations, ALEF and SHIFT, Right to Play focuses on enabling young leaders to use play-based methods to resolve conflicts and build bridges between different communities.

Through the Skills, Training, and Empowerment for Palestinian Youth (STEP) project, which is supported by UNICEF, we are providing Palestinian youth dropouts with the chance to develop life skills, receive vocational training, and access mentorship programs.

Through the Sport for Development project, coaches and educators are receiving training on how to use sports as a tool for teaching important life skills like teamwork, leadership, and discipline. This initiative, supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to create safe and inclusive sports environments and engaging youth in positive activities that promote physical and emotional well-being and address issues such as gender equality and social cohesion.

In the Beyond Games project, Right to Play is working to integrate sports for psychosocial support into physical education curriculum to support achieving national outcomes related to children’s social and emotional learning. Through the project funded by Porticus, teachers and education officials are receiving training on how to help children develop social and emotional skills through physical education, making learning more engaging and effective.

Through Igitining Learning Minds and Enhanced Quality and Inclusive Education Project 2.0 (EQIE 2.0), Right to Play is working collaborative with local NGOs to ensure that the prospects of quality education and reading services are enhanced. This supports children in achieving improved psychological wellbeing, social emotional skills, leading up to improved reading outcomes. There projects are funded by NORAD and Latter Day Saints Church

“I don’t like to talk but I need to do something when I feel sad. I want to play. I want to throw this anger on a ball not on people.” – Daniyal

Key Supporters and Partners

We collaborate with the Government of Lebanon through the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, and the Ministry of Social Affairs to implement our programs.

Our work is made possible with generous support from donors, including UNICEF, the European Union, the Government of Norway, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the LEGO Foundation, Porticus and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We also work closely with UNRWA to deliver impactful programs that create lasting change.

Impact Letter Lebanon - 2024

Country Office Address

Street #901, Dekwaneh 1161 Industrial Park Bldg, 4th Floor
Dekwaneh, Mount-Lebanon

+ 961 1 684 183