Ms Brid Kennedy:

We work in the Akkar region in northern Lebanon where we provide shelter in informal settlements and collective centres. These collective centres can be in buildings which were originally intended to be chicken farms but which have been converted. They provide people with shelter, a sense of physical protection and a home. Some of the informal settlements are just basic good quality tents. We also provide water and sanitation for the population. In addition, we provide education services. As Ms O'Mahony mentioned in her presentation, the children are the future. Syria had a 99% education achievement rate before the war. Now millions of children are at risk of not receiving an education. If we are to offer hope in the future, we must address the issue of education, as we do through supporting children informally and in trying to get them into the Lebanese school system.

We are also engaged in protection work with the support of Irish Aid. We support men and women working together in the refugee population and the host community. As mentioned in the presentation, there is much tension between host communitys and the refugee population. We engage with men and women to examine the traditional issues and the new issues they face to help to break down some of the barriers and stigma encountered which we hope in itself will contribute to mitigating more problems and contributing to peace in communities.

We have been registered in Turkey since August 2013 and work very closely with the Turkish authorities which are very co-operative in supporting the Syrian population. Recently we have focused on water distribution and non-food item distribution to recent influxes of the Syrian population. We are examining conducting a large-scale education programme, provided funding comes through.

Since last year we have been supporting the provision of clean water in Syria. People like us were used to a good standard of housing and piped water systems. However, the piped water system has been cut off. When we made our assessment, the number one priority was to have piped water systems into houses. This ensures a clean water supply and reduces the risk of attack when people go to fetch water from other sources. This has been working very effectively.

We also promote good hygiene. Syria had almost been polio free, but, unfortunately, there was an outbreak last year. The local authorities had the sandfly population under control. Sandflies spread leishmaniasis which causes terrible skin problems. The incidence of this decease increased hugely last year. However, a defogging system controls the sandfly population and minimises the risk of contracting leishmaniasis.