In Northern Syria, the devastating conflict has left more than 6 million Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in need of support. Houses have been left in ruins, and an estimated 700,000 households have been unable to afford repairs. Displacement camps are not a long-term solution for this population, which includes many families and children who long to return home.

The Syria Shelter campaign will provide repairs, rent payments and reintegration, rehoming an estimated 130 people.

Returning them to their homes means that communities are rebuilt and the local economy can begin to thrive again.

Phases 1-3 have already rehabilitated the majority of the village of Nahlaia and our campaign has attracted local media attention, with other action groups beginning to emulate our work.

We want to resettle as many displaced Syrians as we can, returning them to their homes and communities.

To do this, we’re funding repairs to shelters and homes (some of which have serious water or structural damage) to make them less vulnerable, which is vital as we approach winter.

Our work has a secondary goal, which is to increase economic stability – settling people and their businesses back into the community to improve their long-term prospects.

This campaign is a vital source of help to people who have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict.

In total there are thought to be 11 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance. 6 million are displaced, including 2.5 million children. Hostilities in the South have meant that Northern Syria hosts a larger number of IDPs, and this has caused a shortage of shelter.

We identified key areas for our work in North Syria, and Nahlaia in Idlib was one of them. The village of Nahlaia has not previously been supported by NGOs and had a dire need for help. We aim to rebuild the community a little at a time.

• Needs Assessment – We received a list of shelters in need of repair from the local council. We prioritized shelters which had significant water damage, structural damage, or belonged to families with no stable income, or headed by women, children or the elderly.
• Field Visits – We verified the conditions of the shelters, and selected beneficiaries.
• Signing Process with Beneficiaries – We asked the beneficiaries to pledge that they will care for the rehabilitated shelter.
• Tender and Selection Process for Suppliers – We selected suppliers through a fair process, giving first consideration to local partners.
• Daily Monitoring/Supervision of Work - Our partners on the ground monitored all work to ensure that standards were being met.
• Daily Contact with Beneficiaries – We offered grants covering 6 months of rent to some beneficiaries. Our partners maintained daily contact with the beneficiaries to ensure their requirements and immediate needs were met, in line with our objectives.

Inevitably, the global Covid-19 pandemic meant that the campaign was paused for a while. Materials and supplies were difficult to obtain as most businesses were closed, or operating at reduced capacity.

Salam Charity follows a model of fairness and always considers the needs of our host community. So it was imperative that the local, existing community was also provided with rehabilitated shelters. We incorporated this into our work in order to bring a greater sense of community cohesion.

By the end of this campaign, Salam Charity will have rehabilitated 28 homes, providing safe housing to approximately 130 people, including almost the entire population of the village of Nahlaia.

The Shelter Rehabilitation campaign has supported not only returning Syrians, but also those who remained.

And the life-changing impact continues, because the campaign has been picked up by local news outlets and become a catalyst for the reintegration of Syrians. Many other NGOs have now started similar projects to help return more Syrians back to their homes.

We’ve completed Phases 1 -3, covering Nahlaia and Aruba in Idlib, Northern Syria. With each phase, we extend our range of shelters.

Phase 4 will begin in January 2022, extending outwards from Nahlaia. We are aiming to rehabilitate 15-20 homes, which will provide shelter to approximately 100 people.

To fund the fourth phase and rehome these people, we are asking for your help.

Help us to give 20 more families their own safe shelter this winter.