The Alsama Project

Alsama Studio’s Sister Initiative

The Alsama Project is an NGO supporting 600 bottom-of-the-pyramid Syrian refugee teenagers. Our 3 schools are based in the refugee camps of Shatila and Bourj Al-Barajneh in Beirut, Lebanon. The project offers refugee children a diverse education, provides refugee women with an opportunity to earn an income, and gives volunteers and donors a way of engaging with a group of people who can do a great deal but need a little support

What Problem Is Alsama Trying to Solve?

  • More than 50% of Syrian refugee children in Lebanon aged 3-18 are out of school

  • 41% of displaced Syrian women are married before 18

  • 22% of the displaced Syrians aged 15-18 not attending school cannot do so because they are working

  • 3% of Syrian refugee teenagers in Lebanon graduate from secondary school

What Does Alsama Provide?

  • Secondary Schools (“Informal Education Institutes”)

  • Cricket (sports hubs for youth)

  • Professional training (coding & more)

  • Scholarships for further study aimed at the top 1-5% exceptionally talented students

  • Alsama Studio

Alsama Is Unlike Any Other Refugee NGO

Impact-orientation

  • Clear performance metrics & an agile ability to pivot towards what works (and away from what does not – e.g. recent decision to focus on perfecting our centers in Shatila & Borj before scaling, despite offers of funding for new centers)

Deep understanding of the children

  • We know our students well – and they know us. Our intensive multi-faceted programs create mutual understanding. Most students “have to be told to go home at the end of the day; they just want to stay even longer.”

High bar on quality of education

  • We work closely with a leading global consulting firm, use challenging education curriculum & recognized certification, and rely on volunteers who themselves come from some of the best universities & companies globally.

No frills bootstrapping approach

  • Our HQ is a small room in the Shatila school, key leadership roles are unpaid, and we raise funds conservatively. Our ‘per student’ annual cost of US $750 are 71% of the global average of US$1,0511. This comes to less than 1 dollar per hour (the school stays open for 44 weeks)

Vibrant relationship with donors

  • We are more than just “transparent.” We try to encourage our donors – individuals or institutions – to visit. Those that take up the offer receive a warm welcome by the children. Many donors commit time as well as money and so become part of the Alsama extended enterprise

Respect from within the community

  • As evidenced by the fact that students come to Alsama for the education (not stipends or lunches) by the waitlist of 800 children eager to join Alsama’s Education Institute in Shatila with a further 300 on the waitlist for Borj

Our programs

  • Alsama sets up education centers, sports hubs and social enterprises in refugee camps in Lebanon. Our projects are run for – and, in large part, run by – refugee communities.

Registered in Lebanon (372/2021), the UK (1191810), the US (87-1842640, as 501(c)3