The monitoring visit focused on assessing how Jersey’s funding is helping the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) deliver cash and voucher assistance to families affected by conflict, displacement, economic crisis and natural disasters. The delegation visited Damascus, Aleppo and Beirut, meeting the President and Secretary General of SARC, the LRC Disaster Management Head of Sector, volunteers, programme teams and people and communities supported through JOA-funded assistance.
Of the visit Deputy said. “seeing the scale of need in Syria and Lebanon, and the remarkable commitment of the Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers, underlines why Jersey continues to play its part as a responsible humanitarian donor. Our support through the Cash Hub is helping local teams respond rapidly and also affords dignity to those in desperate need. This visit reaffirms that long-term partnerships are essential for strengthening local capacity and trust, ensuring that assistance reaches those who would otherwise be left behind.”
“Visiting the countries where we work gives us first-hand insight into the realities on the ground and helps us better understand the challenges faced by the people and communities we aim to support.”
Time in Aleppo allowed the delegation to directly engage with households who have benefited form JOA’s support. This included Adina, a widow whose livelihood was completely destroyed in the 2023 earthquake. She received a cash grant for livelihoods from SARC. The two instalments (the first conditional of a sound business case), enabled her to purchase two sewing machines and materials to make occasional dresses that she rented out in the community. The income allowed her to support her elderly mother, severely disabled brother and her daughter’s family, including two young children.
In Beirut, JOA met the Disaster Management team of the Lebanese Red Cross, whose volunteers have been at the forefront of humanitarian response amid Lebanon’s overlapping economic, political and security crises. Volunteers, many themselves displaced in recent conflict, shared powerful accounts of providing cash assistance, health services and relief items to Lebanon’s most vulnerable households.
The delegation also received an update on the Cash Centre of Excellence, hosted by the Lebanese Red Cross with Cash Hub support, which provides technical training on how to deliver CVA activities in humanitarian crisis to 17 Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies across the Middle East and North Africa.
Why Cash?
Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) is a cornerstone of JOA’s humanitarian strategy. Cash assistance strengthens dignity and resilience. The approach enables crisis-affected households to choose and purchase what they need most, while supporting local markets and ensuring aid is delivered quickly, safely and accountably.
Jersey’s humanitarian commitment in the region
Jersey Overseas Aid has supported humanitarian action in Syria and Lebanon for more than a decade, including responses to the Syria conflict, the 2020 Beirut explosion and the 2023 earthquakes. As a flexible, non-traditional donor, Jersey continues to provide principled, targeted assistance that strengthens local leadership and delivers high-quality aid where it is needed most.
