Education fund announces third round of grants to support refugees in Lebanon and Jordan

The grants aim to help more than 38,500 people through access to education and skills

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2018 file photo, Syrian refugees line up to register their names at an employment office, at the Azraq Refugee Camp, 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Amman, Jordan. Nearly a year after Jordan opened its main border crossing for Syrian refugees to go home, few are taking up the offer. Afraid to return home, unable to earn a decent living in Jordan and unwanted by the West, refugees are trapped in a cycle of poverty and debt while straining the resources of a country that is already struggling to meet the needs of its own population. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh, File)
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The Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund has announced the launch of its third cycle of grants for refugees in Jordan and Lebanon.

Coinciding with World Refugee Day on June 20, the grants will provide access to educational courses to teach skills to those displaced from their home countries.

The grants will also support refugee pupils in Jordan and Lebanon with their  secondary education.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of World Refugee Day, which aims to create awareness of the more than 80 million forcibly displaced people around the world and to promote the protection of their human rights.

"I wanted to make sure that we would not be just another donor, but that we would create real partnerships to have greater impact for these youth," said Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, the Emirati businessman who set up the fund in 2018.

"For example, we offer insights on how to use successful business practices so that our partners can have better results and scale their approaches."

This third round of grants will support eight programmes by partners in Jordan and Lebanon.

Partners were chosen for their approaches to meeting challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic and, in Lebanon, by the devastating Beirut port explosion last August.

The Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Refugee Education Fund's third round of grants will aim to make a difference to the lives of more than 38,500 refugees.

"This fund recognises that the most vulnerable Arab youth need education and the surrounding support to assure they find a pathway to work and entrepreneurship," said Mr Al Ghurair.

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