Women's Programs Association (WPA)
Women's Programs Association (WPA) is a registered Lebanese organization that started its work as one of the UNRWA projects in 1953. WPA's vision is to build a generation of youth and women who have equal rights and opportunities and participate in the development of their communities.
The organization's mission is to promote integrated development with a focus on economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods through provision of protection, livelihood, education and social stability activities for Palestinian refugee women and youth.
WPA maintains projects in the Palestinian camps throughout Lebanon and works in the areas of advocacy, social and cultural development, education, women's and youth empowerment, and training and capacity building (www.wpa-lb.org).
Cooperation with forumZFD Lebanon
WPA has cooperated with forumZFD in the Community Mobilizing programme called Ghaymeh. Through training and mentoring, the project equipped Community Activists with the necessary methods and tools on Conflict Transformation to constructively and proactively address local conflicts. The Community Activists formed working groups from the local community in their locations and worked together to identify local conflicts, analyze them and address on of them with a conflict-sensitive initiative. During the life project, Community Activists and Working Groups implemented social actions based on discussions and analysis conducted on issues pertaining to each camp.
The completion of the project was marked by series of activities aiming to improve the social cohesion among residents, sharing and enhancing their sense of belonging. In Beddawi, the team set up a monthly street market which they called Souq Moukhaimna ("the market, our camp") in which they gave opportunities to residents from different backgrounds and nationalities who lack place of business to display their products and establish dialogue and networks with other residents in the camp. In Al Bass , a series of community mobilizing activities were implemented involving youth and parents, UNRWA schools, health staff and local Community Based Organizations including planting, enhancing public infrastructure, cooking and opening safe spaces for dialogue.
