Relief & Reconciliation runs peace centres for children and young people in Akkar, Lebanon, and in Kadesh near Qusayr, Syria. This page brings together what foundations, public funders and partner organisations usually need before they decide to work with us.
Legal status
- Name: Relief & Reconciliation International AISBL, an international non-profit association under Belgian law
- Registered office: Chaussée de Wavre 205, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Registered charity number: 0544.599.174
- Founded: 2 January 2013 in Brussels; recognised by Royal Decree of the King of the Belgians on 18 December 2013
- Accounts: kept under the accountancy rules of Belgian law, with one unified accountancy for all national chapters
Governance
R&R International has more than 550 individual members in 10 national chapters; five of them have their own legal personality so that donations are tax-deductible in their country. The General Assembly of all members meets at least once a year. How the association is organised, and the rules every chapter follows, are described under Structure and governance.
- Chairperson: Friedrich Bokern, founder
- Secretary General: Basma Chaikh Karouch
- Treasurer: Marc-Antoine Mathijsen
Results and evaluation
For our latest evaluation, our youth leaders and outreach team surveyed the parents of 703 children. 85 % of Syrian children aged 6 to 11 in the villages where we work were in school in 2025; across Lebanon, the UN counted 50 % (Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees, VASyR 2025). The report also names what we still need to improve, above all discipline in class.
Earlier reports are collected under Annual reports.
References
- Honorary patrons: Jerzy Buzek and Isabelle Durant, former President and Vice-President of the European Parliament
- Project funding has included: GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Children’s Rights Charter, 2022), UNESCO (Peace Centre Kadesh, 2025) and the Catholic Diocese of Münster (teachers’ salaries, 2025/26)
- Press: reports by NOW Lebanon, the Financial Times, Deutschlandfunk and others are collected under Press reports
Our work
- Our approach: education, trust and responsibility, from the classroom to the community
- The Peace Centres: Akkar in Lebanon since 2013, Kadesh in Syria since January 2026
- Who we are: our story since 2013 and the people behind it
Contact
For proposals, due-diligence questions or a call with our chairperson, write to contact@reliefandreconciliation.org or use our contact form.