Funded by the EU through the European Trust Fund "Madad", MASAR programme supports subgovernment’s capacities, host populations and refugees in response to the Syrian crisis. The project is implemented in the Iraqi regions of Ninewah and Dohuk and in Lebanon, specifically in Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel and Tripoli. It focuses on municipal strategic planning, improvement of public services and local economic development.
MASAR for Local Governments consists of two relatively autonomous programmes in both Lebanon and Iraq.
The areas most heavily affected by the Syrian refugee crisis were Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel and north of Tripoli.
The Iraqi regions of Ninewah plain and Dohuk in the Kurdistan Region were also heavily affected the Syrian refugees’ crisis.
During the war in Syria, more than 5.6 millions of Syrians citizens were displaced and were in need of humanitarian protection and assistance, while the Syrian crisis also deeply affected the surrounding countries. The MASAR programme, funded by the European Union, was created to answer this need by enhancing the long-term resilience of municipalities in Iraq and Lebanon to bear the burden of Syrian displacement in both countries.
The overall programme was divided to different themes and projects to fulfill 3 Strategic Objectives, under which many activities were executed by 4 partners: The International Cooperation Agency Of The Association of Netherlands Municipalities VNG International, The Polish Center For International Aid PCPM, The Catalan Agency For Development Cooperation ACCD and KL Komponent.
The MASAR systematic approach for the Geographic Information System's implementation proved to be effective and paved the way towards sustainability. The unmatched passion of the Geographic Information System Technical Unit staff played a major role in reaching this advanced level in the system.
All the villagers benefit from Btedii lake. If this lake is gone, no one will stay in the village. Thus the importance of MASAR hill-lakes project in our region.
The highlight of MASAR programme in Arsal Municipality & Union of Municipalities of Deir el Ahmar was the community engagement. In spite of the economic crisis, youth are deeply engaged as volunteers in all municipal activities. They believe that their time & efforts will not be in vain and will reap empowerment & progress in their communities.
With sufficient data and participatory planning local governments can deliver better public services and facilitate local economic initiatives. Working on governance and adopting selected technologies is as important as securing financial resources to ensure development in a context of crisis.
I joined the beekeeping progamme to learn more about it to be able to create eventually my own business and support my family.
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