We are actively involved in building self-sustainable short and long term development projects in addition to providing relief and humanitarian assistance that foster self-reliance, self-directness and preserves human dignity for the sake of the disadvantaged groups in Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon.

LEBANON
	Ending the Indifference: HCI Joins in Raising Awareness of the Plight of Migrant Women Workers in Lebanon
	According to recent statistics around 200,000 women migrant domestic workers live in Lebanon working as housemaids, and nannies. The domestic nature of their work creates special relationships with their employers. Most migrant workers reside with a family, as the contract they sign requires that their employers to offer a shelter. The Lebanese government recently [...] [more]
	HCI Celebrates Arab Orphan Day with Sponsored Children
	Though Human Concern International works every day to improve the lives of orphans, one day is particularly crucial: Arab Orphan Day. Declared by the Arab league as a response to the many challenges faced by orphans, it falls on the first Friday of every April. It is designed to build awareness of the plight many [...] [more]
	Youth led local participation as a means of community development in Lebanon
	This year, Human Concern International embarked upon an ambitious project to asses the needs of a particularly disadvantaged Beirut neighborhood, Nabaa. Working alongside our local partner, Dar al-Amal, and twenty local youths, we have conducted a Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) research which maps out the challenges faced by Nabaa residents. It is the first phase [...] [more]
	Video: HCI presents the Child Sponsorship Program
	HCI presents the Child Sponsorship Program; the case of Majd from Gaza HCI presents the Child Sponsorship Program; the case of Abdel Rahman and Bara’ Hashem from Lebanon [more]
	Empowering and Encouraging Landmine victims in the South of Lebanon: The Backyard Production Support Project
	Life in the south of Lebanon is not easy. In a country all too often ravaged by war it has suffered the most. Located along the Lebanese-Israeli border, one of the most volatile on earth, its residents live a life of uncertainty. In 2006 the simmering tension once again became full scale war almost without [...] [more]
	HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	Understanding the culture and living conditions of the local communities we work with is part of HCI’s philosophy while serving these communities, especially at times such as Eid when great importance is placed on reviving and enjoying the traditional aspects of local culture. In addition, these traditions serve to strengthen community ties and embody [...] [more]
	Active People for Active Change: HCI’s Healthy Living Campaign and the Beirut International Marathon
	Last Sunday the streets of central Beirut were transformed by the Beirut International Marathon. For one day they were devoid of traffic, as people of all ages, religions, ethnicities, and nationalities walked and ran side by side. They turned the streets into a sea of people, all of them willing to sacrifice their time and [...] [more]
	A Day in the City: Touching Lives and Engaging Minds
	Jabal Akroum is one of the poorest and most marginalized areas of Lebanon; it is remote, difficult to reach and underdeveloped. It is located high up in the mountains of the Akkar district which has seen several conflicts back-to-back; in 2006 there was the July War in which all of Lebanon was affected and in [...] [more]
	Sohatak Bel Deni: the launching of HCI’s specially tailored healthy eating habits manual in Lebanon
	Every child deserves to be healthy; the proverb “healthy body, healthy mind” says it all; access to a good nutritious meal and developing healthy eating habits are vital for every child’s well being. In 2009, HCI introduced the “Farm to School Program” in Lebanon, where small scale farmers, low income students, and unemployed women living [...] [more]
	Ramadan 2009: HCI’s Experiences around the Arab World
	For the Muslim world, the month of Ramadan is traditionally a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, self control, and fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is also a particularly joyous time when relatives and friends invite each other over to gather around a table and break the fast together-Iftar-and above all a time [...] [more]
	Farm to School Project: Expanding Regionally
	The “Farm to School program brings healthy food from local farms to thousands of poor school-aged children in low-income remote villages. Moreover, the program teaches students about healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. In addition, the use of local products in school meals and educational activities provides a new direct market for local [...] [more]
	Success and Achievements: HCI Tale around Lebanon
	Two jobs were created at the Al Mona center for hearing imparities & mental development in Tripoli the week that Yazan, a member of the fundraising team in Canada visited the HCI team in Lebanon. The center, a subsidiary of the Charity of the Islamic Women Society was where the first meal of HCI’s Farm [...] [more]
	Helping Hands for War-Affected Rural Families in Lebanon
	Cultivation of land and farming are amongst the most basic of human activities. Although we take it for granted, self sufficiency in farming is vital for a community, especially in troubled regions. As well as providing a source of food, the agricultural sector is a major force in the local economy in remote rural areas in [...] [more]
	Introducing the Farm to School Program in Lebanon
	HCI launched this week its new project in Lebanon, the Farm to School program, with the objectives of improving the economic stability of low-income local small farmers in rural areas, providing jobs for vulnerable local women in food preparation, providing healthy meals for thousands of poor students, improving the nutritional health of poor school-aged children, [...] [more]
	Celebrating the Arab Orphan Day
	“My name is Abeer. I snuck into the pocket space under the stairs and settled on a worn rubber tire. I took into myself a rusty-bladed knife in a box of wood shavings, and watched the crystal bubbles in clear olive-oil jugs, and mourned. My fuzz-head torn-shorts brother sat cross-legged on the ground beside me, and [...] [more]
	Video: HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	The second and the third day of Eid Al-Adha dawned windy–one of the most important events in the Muslim calendar both religiously and socially — rainy and cold, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of HCI team in Middle East, assisted by volunteers and local partners, determined to see that the poorest of the poor [...] [more]
	Video: Livelihood Support for War-Affected Rural Families in Lebanon
	The border village Al-Wazani, an underprivileged agricultural village in Southern Lebanon located directly on the Lebanese-Israeli border, was heavily affected by the July-August 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel. In addition to the total destruction of infrastructure, the loss of lives and an economy suffering badly from the recession that followed the war, livestock losses [...] [more]
	Video: Kermes for Children from Marwahin during Eid el-Fitir
	Located directly on the Lebanese-Israeli border, the southern village of Marwahin was heavily affected by the July-August 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel. On July 15 2006, a strike on a convoy of civilians fleeing from the village killed twenty-one people, including fourteen children. The tragedy of these poor young people and of their desperate attempts [...] [more]
	Livelihood Support for War-Affected Rural Families in Lebanon
	The border village Al-Wazani, an underprivileged agricultural village in Southern Lebanon located directly on the Lebanese-Israeli border, was heavily affected by the July-August 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel. In addition to the total destruction of infrastructure, the loss of lives and an economy suffering badly from the recession that followed the war, livestock losses [...] [more]
	A Trip to Bab Al Tabaneh in Tripoli: A Lesson in Hope
	“I’m already feeling nervous and it has only been few hours since I arrived. How do those permanently living here feel? How do they manage?” wondered Aminah Kandar, a visiting Board Member from HCI-Canada, during a field visit to Tripoli. Aminah was accompanied by HCI’s local partner CIWS, specifically to the troubled area of Bab [...] [more]
PALESTINE
	HCI Celebrates Arab Orphan Day with Sponsored Children
	Though Human Concern International works every day to improve the lives of orphans, one day is particularly crucial: Arab Orphan Day. Declared by the Arab league as a response to the many challenges faced by orphans, it falls on the first Friday of every April. It is designed to build awareness of the plight many [...] [more]
	Video: HCI presents the Child Sponsorship Program
	HCI presents the Child Sponsorship Program; the case of Majd from Gaza HCI presents the Child Sponsorship Program; the case of Abdel Rahman and Bara’ Hashem from Lebanon [more]
	HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	Understanding the culture and living conditions of the local communities we work with is part of HCI’s philosophy while serving these communities, especially at times such as Eid when great importance is placed on reviving and enjoying the traditional aspects of local culture. In addition, these traditions serve to strengthen community ties and embody [...] [more]
	Providing a Better Future for Mentally and Physically Challenged West Bank Children through Education
	Frequent arrests, military raids, over 600 Israeli military checkpoints, severely restricted freedom of movement, and ever-expanding settlements occupying more and more land are all a part of life in the West Bank. Conflict, poverty, unemployment, and isolation have left its residents with an uncertain future. The physically and mentally challenged, who according to WHO estimates [...] [more]
	Sowing Hope, Harvesting Opportunity: Gaza in the Holy Month of Ramadan
	Every Palestinian woman and family have a story to tell, many of these stories reflect the profound sadness of Gaza’s own story; stories about the healing of wounds, about deprivation, about women struggling to support families and most of all about keeping hope alive. HCI is acutely aware of this nations suffering and follows [...] [more]
	Ramadan 2009: HCI’s Experiences around the Arab World
	For the Muslim world, the month of Ramadan is traditionally a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, self control, and fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is also a particularly joyous time when relatives and friends invite each other over to gather around a table and break the fast together-Iftar-and above all a time [...] [more]
	Sustainable Development in Gaza: One Step at a Time
	At a time when Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire, and former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney are detained for attempting to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza, at a time when toys, food and medical supplies are lingering elusively at the gates of the city, and the imposed blockade continues to exacerbate millions of lives, the residents of [...] [more]
	Celebrating the Arab Orphan Day
	“My name is Abeer. I snuck into the pocket space under the stairs and settled on a worn rubber tire. I took into myself a rusty-bladed knife in a box of wood shavings, and watched the crystal bubbles in clear olive-oil jugs, and mourned. My fuzz-head torn-shorts brother sat cross-legged on the ground beside me, and [...] [more]
	Bringing Warmth and Hope to Gaza’s Preschool Children
	In post-war Gaza, one can easily observe the aftermath: displacement and homelessness are prevalent; poverty is visible; unemployment is raging; malnutrition among children is rampant; trauma and grief are widespread; and lost livelihoods are common. For many families, everything they had worked for or achieved all their life has been destroyed. If such a reality is [...] [more]
	Launching the Kindergarten Rehabilitation Program in Gaza
	HCI launched this week the Kindergarten Rehabilitation Program in Gaza and is now working towards reconstructing the physical damages incurred on the Al-Majed School and Kindergarten located in the Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City. The Al-Majed school and Kindergarten was established in 1972 under the name Hashim’s Gaza, and renamed the “Two Sisters” Kindergarten in 1992. [...] [more]
	Celebrating International Woman’s Day in Gaza by Promoting Cancer Early Detection among Women
	On the 8th of March 2009, HCI worked cooperatively with its Gaza-based partner, the Aid & Hope Center for the Care of Cancer Patients, to celebrate the International Woman’s Day by promoting cancer early detection, particularly mammograms test which is among the best early detection methods for breast cancer among women. Breast cancer if detected [...] [more]
	From Gaza City Comes the Story of Em Wassim
	“You can’t live with despair, and there is certainly no despair if you’re living.” Huda Al Shaghnobi or Em Wassim started her conversation with us, as we paid her a visit to deliver some relief items donated by HCI. Em Wassim was very much delighted to have us over in her small yet loving house. Em [...] [more]
	From Gaza City Comes the Story of Suleiman Obied Family
	Suleiman Khalil Obied, his wife and seven children live in the Zeiton area in Gaza city. Their house is falling apart, dim and filled with mold. Suleiman hasn’t worked for years. His family is the poorest in the area. Their house reflects the need and poverty they live in, no drinking water is available, no [...] [more]
	From Al-Zaytoun in Gaza Comes the Story of Najah Mohamed Shabat
	Najah, a 44-year old mother who suffers from a heart condition speaks to us of her family and their lives. “I have nine girls and two boys. The eldest is 24-year old Nazira who graduated from Nursing School but is still unemployed. The youngest is Biark who’s 5 years old. My father-in-law offered us the house [...] [more]
	From The Al Shata Refugee Camp in Gaza Comes the Humanitarian Story of Sohad Hasi
	“My late husband Jawad has abandoned his fishing tools… he won’t  be bringing us colorful fish of all shapes and sizes anymore… our children Mohamed, Ahmed and Abdullah will keep waiting for their dad to come back home.” This is how 27-year old Sohad, now a widow, started the conversation, fighting to hold back her tears [...] [more]
	From the Hay Al-Zaytoun in Gaza comes the humanitarian story of Hussam Sa’eed Abu-Warda
	In Gaza, life has lost all taste and colour, everyday looks just like the other. Those were Hussam’s first words when approached by HCI for assistance. Hussam, a former public servant, lost his job in 2007 and has not been able to find work since. Today, his days consist of watching TV for hours in [...] [more]
	Post-Conflict Recovery for Gaza: Quick Impact Programs Assisting Gazans to Rebuild Their Lives
	As the fighting in Gaza subsidies, people have been venturing out to discover what is left of their lives. For many, the rubble reveals only further pain and despair. Civilians are no longer only concerned with mere survival, but they are now trying to come to terms with their loss. “A number of areas inside [...] [more]
	Video: 10 Years in the West Bank & Gaza
	Human Concern International has been actively involved in the West Bank and Gaza for the past decade building self-sustainable short and long term development projects in addition to providing relief and humanitarian assistance that foster self-reliance, self-directness and preserves human dignity for the sake of the disadvantaged groups in Palestine. Thanks to a quality network [...] [more]
	Video: HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	The second and the third day of Eid Al-Adha dawned windy–one of the most important events in the Muslim calendar both religiously and socially — rainy and cold, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of HCI team in Middle East, assisted by volunteers and local partners, determined to see that the poorest of the poor [...] [more]
	Besieged Gaza Strip: Vulnerable Gazans Got Food Aid from HCI
	Last Monday and Wednesday, HCI dispatched two trucks loaded with humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip to help besieged Gazans survive the deteriorating living conditions. The trucks crossed King Hussein Bridge carrying basic food items. “We seek to help besieged poor Gazans cope with the difficult situation they are currently going through,” HCI coordinator commented as he [...] [more]
SUDAN
	HCI Celebrates Arab Orphan Day with Sponsored Children
	Though Human Concern International works every day to improve the lives of orphans, one day is particularly crucial: Arab Orphan Day. Declared by the Arab league as a response to the many challenges faced by orphans, it falls on the first Friday of every April. It is designed to build awareness of the plight many [...] [more]
	Building Opportunities for Sudanese Disabled
	The Sudanese Association for Disability and Rehabilitation in Fasher area, north of Darfur region in Sudan was established in 1987. HCI relationship with SADR started in 2003 when HCI supported the development of the SADR’s library with books and training materials about small income generation activities. With the help of HCI, SADR has now 2865 members. [...] [more]
	HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	Understanding the culture and living conditions of the local communities we work with is part of HCI’s philosophy while serving these communities, especially at times such as Eid when great importance is placed on reviving and enjoying the traditional aspects of local culture. In addition, these traditions serve to strengthen community ties and embody [...] [more]
	Today’s Orphans, Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs: Unleashing the Economic Potential of Sudan’s Orphans
	The number of orphans and children from single mother-headed households in Sudan has risen dramatically over the past few years due to war, natural disasters, and other crises. Poverty and economic hardship also have added to children born out of wedlock who, according to Sudanese law, are considered orphans. Since 2003, HCI has been addressing [...] [more]
	Ramadan 2009: HCI’s Experiences around the Arab World
	For the Muslim world, the month of Ramadan is traditionally a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, self control, and fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is also a particularly joyous time when relatives and friends invite each other over to gather around a table and break the fast together-Iftar-and above all a time [...] [more]
	Sudan Dairy; Building Capacities and Unlocking the Potential of Widows and Orphans
	In May 2009, the HCI team launched two projects in Sudan that will provide credit capital and the necessary training and coaching to two new communities in two settlements in the south and the north of the capital Khartoum as well as a project which will promote entrepreneurial spirit among impoverished Sudanese orphans, and giving [...] [more]
	Celebrating the Arab Orphan Day
	“My name is Abeer. I snuck into the pocket space under the stairs and settled on a worn rubber tire. I took into myself a rusty-bladed knife in a box of wood shavings, and watched the crystal bubbles in clear olive-oil jugs, and mourned. My fuzz-head torn-shorts brother sat cross-legged on the ground beside me, and [...] [more]
	Video: HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	The second and the third day of Eid Al-Adha dawned windy–one of the most important events in the Muslim calendar both religiously and socially — rainy and cold, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of HCI team in Middle East, assisted by volunteers and local partners, determined to see that the poorest of the poor [...] [more]
	HCI Expands Badly-Needed Health Services for Displaced Sudanese
	For the past five years, HCI has been working for the well being of the estimated 11,000 internally displaced people of Salama settlement, who have fled the violence in the south and west of their country and now live south of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. Here they face chronic poverty, both high unemployment and [...] [more]
	Honoring Ramadan Traditions in Sudan, Extending Help to the Poor
	The Holy Month of Ramadan is a time for inner reflection by Muslims, devotion to God, self control, and fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is also a particularly joyous time when relatives and friends invite each other over to gather around a table and break the fast together–Iftar–and above all a time of giving [...] [more]
	Khojali Khalwa: History, commitment, opportunities and hope
	Founded in 1734 in the West of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the Khojali Khalwa/Mosque is home now to over 300 students. The majority of the students come from low-income families from the Western part of Sudan, particularly from the Darfur area. They come at 6 years of age to learn Arabic, Tafsir, Shari’ah, Hadith, Mantiq, and [...] [more]
	Heroic people on a special mission
	Desolated land, unpaved roads, dry landscape, hazy horizon, donkey carts, small motorbikes, roaming barefooted children, makeshift houses, no schools, health facilities, water, electricity or sanitation. This is how I describe the Salama settlement south of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, which I visited last week with my colleagues. HCI has been operating in this area since [...] [more]
IRAQI REFUGEES
	Video: HCI presents The Happiness Forest: Bringing Together and Empowering Iraqi Refugees and Their Hosts
	A group of underprivileged Iraqi and Jordanian children volunteers met after school over couple of months to rehearse for a play called The Happiness Forest. The play served as a safe and effective space for the children to learn lessons on peaceful coexistence, pluralism, gender equality, tolerance and non-violence. The play was debut on the prestigious Royal [...] [more]
	HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	Understanding the culture and living conditions of the local communities we work with is part of HCI’s philosophy while serving these communities, especially at times such as Eid when great importance is placed on reviving and enjoying the traditional aspects of local culture. In addition, these traditions serve to strengthen community ties and embody [...] [more]
	Ramadan 2009: HCI’s Experiences around the Arab World
	For the Muslim world, the month of Ramadan is traditionally a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, self control, and fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is also a particularly joyous time when relatives and friends invite each other over to gather around a table and break the fast together-Iftar-and above all a time [...] [more]
	The Happiness Forest: Bringing Together and Empowering Iraqi Refugees and Their Hosts
	Jordan hosts around 500,000 Iraqi refugees among which about two thirds are children and youth below the age of twenty four. A large number of them are known to be physically, psychologically, and/or economically vulnerable. In the poor neighborhoods of Amman deprivation and the limited availability of resources create tensions between low income Jordanians and [...] [more]
	Aid for Change: A New Initiative Supporting Iraqi Refugees in Need
	HCI team in Jordan was busy last month in Jordan launching its new initiative for Iraqi refugees living in Jordan: the Aid for Change initiative, aiding vulnerable people with the aim to change their lives through self-help and self-directedness. This new initiative will be implemented in partnership with the Jordan-based New Development Organization. It will [...] [more]
	Video: HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	The second and the third day of Eid Al-Adha dawned windy–one of the most important events in the Muslim calendar both religiously and socially — rainy and cold, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of HCI team in Middle East, assisted by volunteers and local partners, determined to see that the poorest of the poor [...] [more]
	Iraqi Refugees: A Celebration of Being Accepted, Being Taken Care Of
	“It is like a celebration of being accepted, being taken care of and being supported,” commented one of the Iraqi refugees in Zarqa, Jordan, who was receiving medical equipments provided by HCI. She is one of many Iraqis benefited from HCI long-time project helping Iraqi refugees, particularly those with special needs, with relief supplies, medical [...] [more]
	Video: Supporting Iraqi Refugees with Special Needs
	The project aims at improving the social and economic well-being of vulnerable Iraqi refugees in Zarqa, Jordan, particularly persons with mental and physical impairment, female-headed households, elderly and children. [more]
	Layla, and her right to be given the opportunity for a better future
	Physical and psychological disability among Iraqi refugees in Jordan is known to be very high, with higher rates among children and youth. About two thirds of disabled Iraqis are children and youth below the age of 24. Layla, age six years, is the daughter of an Iraqi family who fled the conflicts in Bghdad in the [...] [more]
	Helping people one person at a time: the case of Rahma
	Rahma Kouzah, age twenty months, has a severely deformed skull and her eyes bulge out. She lives with her mother Samia and her brother Ahmed age 6 years in Zarqa, Jordan’s second largest city, in small rented but untenable house lacking basic amenities. Her parents, from Palestinian origins, fled the conflicts in Baghdad in 2006 [...] [more]
EGYPT
	HCI Celebrates Arab Orphan Day with Sponsored Children
	Though Human Concern International works every day to improve the lives of orphans, one day is particularly crucial: Arab Orphan Day. Declared by the Arab league as a response to the many challenges faced by orphans, it falls on the first Friday of every April. It is designed to build awareness of the plight many [...] [more]
	Equal Treatment for All: Helping Disadvantaged Child Cancer Patients in Egypt
	Today, February 4th, is World Cancer Day. All around the world people and organizations are marking the occasion by raising awareness and funds to combat what remains one of the leading causes of death. Human Concern International has been active in this universal cause. Recently, we encouraged breast cancer screening for women in Gaza in [...] [more]
	HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	Understanding the culture and living conditions of the local communities we work with is part of HCI’s philosophy while serving these communities, especially at times such as Eid when great importance is placed on reviving and enjoying the traditional aspects of local culture. In addition, these traditions serve to strengthen community ties and embody [...] [more]
	Ramadan 2009: HCI’s Experiences around the Arab World
	For the Muslim world, the month of Ramadan is traditionally a time for inner reflection, devotion to God, self control, and fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is also a particularly joyous time when relatives and friends invite each other over to gather around a table and break the fast together-Iftar-and above all a time [...] [more]
	Video: HCI Helps Provide a Proper Eid Feast
	The second and the third day of Eid Al-Adha dawned windy–one of the most important events in the Muslim calendar both religiously and socially — rainy and cold, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of HCI team in Middle East, assisted by volunteers and local partners, determined to see that the poorest of the poor [...] [more]
	Bringing hope of New Kalabsha and Garf Hussien: An HCI specialty
	Around the West of Lake Nasser in Aswan, the settlements of New Kalabsha and Garf Hussien felt a breeze of fresh air, arriving when HCI-funded medical care mobile units paid them a visit, and offered medical and health care services covering skin diseases, dental medicine, intestinal diseases, gynecology and much more. The residents of these settlements [...] [more]