World Vision is rushing badly needed blankets, heaters and other critical supplies to displaced Palestinian refugee families who are being hit hard by cold winter temperatures that have caused several deaths.

Thousands of Palestinian refugees displaced from their homes by fighting in the Naher el-Bared refugee camps earlier this year are still unable to return to their destroyed homes and are being forced to weather the cold winter months in poor shelters in other camps.

Through a grant from the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), World Vision is distributing gas and diesel heaters, gas stoves and materials to winterize dwellings for approximately 2,000 beneficiaries in the Ain el-Helweh, Shatila, Burj el-Barajneh, Bus, Rachidiya, Burj Chamali and Wavel Palestinian refugee camps located in south Lebanon.

Around 1,700 families in the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp will receive three thick blankets each through funding from World Vision Canada.

World Vision is also continuing its distributions of baby hygiene kits, which include items such as diapers and disinfectants, to more than 2,000 children younger than three years of age in Beddawi, Shatila, Burj el-Barajneh, Bus, Rachidieh, Burj Chimali and Wavel Palestinian refugee camps. This programme is being funded by the Government of Germany.


'World Vision is committed to supporting Palestinian children and their families with their short-term emergency needs, and also through our long-term development programmes,' said Tony Matar, World Vision Lebanon's relief manager.