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This was the summer

Volunteers in solidarity with Syria and Lebanon

View over the village of Bkarzla and its olive orchards in Akkar

In the heart of Akkar, the most-northern region of Lebanon: Bkarzla. A small Maronite village surrounded by olive orchards in a mixed area where Christians and Muslims are living side by side.

White tents of an informal refugee settlement under trees near Bkarzla

But hidden below the trees are the first signs of the biggest refugee crisis since the end of World War II: informal settlements of Syrian refugees. More than 10 million have lost their home. About 2 million have fled to Lebanon.

Houses at the edge of Bkarzla among olive trees, where the first R&R Peace Centre stands

When we zoom in we see at the outskirts of the village the first R&R Peace Centre, which opened in July 2013, only six months after our establishment. It serves as open house for the youth of all communities.

The building of the R&R Peace Centre in Bkarzla

The Peace Centre is our central activity hub where we provide education and psychosocial support to Syrian refugees and Lebanese alike. It is also the home of our international volunteers.

Volunteers and children pose in front of a wall of painted handprints at the Peace Centre

This summer 2014 saw the second edition of our special summer programme Ramadan Volunteers. 21 short-term volunteers from around the world joined our team for a minimum stay of a month.

Volunteers and children cheer with raised arms in front of the handprint wall

It was a cheerful crowd! In this picture united are volunteers and children from very different backgrounds: Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites and Christians united! In our work, we are combining peacebuilding with humanitarian aid.

A man talks with volunteers in a living room with a Lebanese flagA volunteer notes team scores on a flip chart with two girlsTwo volunteers smile at the camera at the Peace CentreA man sits at a desk in an office next to a fanTwo people check the engine of a car under its raised bonnetChildren jump in the air on a streetTwo volunteers lead a class of young children seated at tablesBoys watch a laptop screen together at a tableBoys look at worksheets sitting on a mattressChildren sit on benches in the wooden classroom of a camp schoolA teacher stands at the blackboard while students raise their handsA large group of children crowds together and waves at the cameraYoung people laugh as they dress a young man in a white sheetTwo young women asleep side by side on a green sofaWater cascades down the rocks next to a riverside restaurantA river flows over rocks below green cliffsCedar trees on a rocky mountain slope below the cloudsA boy rides a horse across a meadow, followed by a foalSunset over a dry hillside with a treeA man speaks under a banner in which Syrian refugees in Akkar call for the release of captured Lebanese soldiersElection posters of the Syrian president on a wallVolunteers and guests dance in a circle under a covered terrace at nightRoad signs pointing towards Homs at a roadside junctionA building damaged by gunfire, seen through a car windowVolunteers look out over a valley from a railing at a viewpointA street vendor sells grapes from a cart in a busy city streetLarge portraits and posters hang above a crowded market streetA military vehicle and a barrier in the Lebanese flag colours in front of damaged buildingsTwo men sit on old stone ruins overlooking a coastal city and the seaA church and a minaret stand side by side in a city streetVolunteers pose for a group photo in a historic courtyard with stone archesA man stands on a rock above a waterfall at duskWater rushes down a waterfall in the dim light of duskVolunteers share an evening meal at a table outdoors in the hillsA pile of sandals and slippers left on the groundA large crowd of children and adults sits under a tent canopyA volunteer entertains a large group of children sitting on the floorChildren watch a puppet show in an alley of the campVolunteers swing fire poi at nightVolunteers and children collect rubbish on a pebble beachBags of collected rubbish beside a parked carTwo adults and a child on a pebble beach by the seaChildren and volunteers play a circle game on a field near the seaChildren fly kites over a fieldChildren and adults bathe in the sea off a pebble beachChildren and adults swim in the sea, with a blue ball floating nearbyBoys play in the rushing water at the foot of a waterfallVolunteers and girls stand in a river and waveMen play football on a covered pitchMen play football on an artificial grass pitchVolunteers ride together in the back of a pick-up on a mountain roadVolunteers carry long wooden poles across a hillside fieldChildren in white caps play a game with volunteers on a dirt fieldA guide holding a stick talks to young hikers in capsA teacher sits under a tree with children drawing on paper in the grassA group of hikers walks along a dirt road in the mountainsA volunteer pats a donkey in a dry fieldFour people stand on a hilltop at sunset above the mountainsA boy photographs flowers with a small cameraA boy photographs a young woman writing in a notebookA group of children stands together on a path in a campA young woman photographs people through a windowA young woman photographs a street with an ambulance and a fire engineA tabby cat rests on a table with a checked tableclothWomen and children stand in an alley of a refugee camp, a boy wavingA volunteer reads a sheet of paper with a girlVolunteers and women from the camp sit together in front of a tentGirls make faces for the camera, one wearing big red toy glassesVolunteers dig in the garden under a grapevine pergolaChildren and young people gather in the garden in front of the Peace CentreYoung people play a game in the garden of the Peace CentreGirls play a game at a table in the garden with a volunteerWomen and children watch a performance on stage in a hallYoung people raise their fists on stage during a performanceTwo boys do handstands on stageA man holding a certificate speaks into a microphone next to two volunteersVolunteers and staff hold up their certificates in a group photoChildren, volunteers and staff cheer with raised arms in a group photoThe Peace Centre decorated with balloons and an R&R banner on the balconyA boy climbs a tree and smiles

This summer 2014 saw the second edition of our special Ramadan Volunteers Programme. From the beginning of July till the end of September, 21 international volunteers stayed at our Peace Centre in Bkarzla (North Lebanon) in solidarity with Syrian refugees and Lebanese in need. We united people from around the world and from all confessions around this common cause and we worked hard to bring more Syrians back into school. By now, we could increase the total reach of our educational activities to more than 700 students. A great thank-you to all our volunteers and staff members for this tremendous job! And a thank-you also to our donors from around the world who made it possible.

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