Food assistance offers a lifeline for Palestine refugees in Syria

Wala’a Meri’ al-Masri and her family are some of the 430,000 Palestine refugees who are dependent on the food assistance provided by UNRWA in Syria. The family, consisting of Wala’a, her husband and their five children, relies on the Agency to meet their minimum daily needs as a result of five years of conflict, displacement and financial hardship.

"We struggle to meet our basic needs," said Wala'a, who shares an apartment with her in-laws in Jaramana camp, eight kilometres from Damascus.

Her husband worked as a daily wage worker in a plastic factory, but lost his job when he developed a cardiac condition. As a result, the family lost their main source of income and now faces severe financial hardship.

The food assistance provided by UNRWA is a lifeline for them, as well as for some 430,000 Palestine families in Syria who face challenges similar to Wala’a’s. Each food parcel provides 700 kcal per day for each person and includes staples such as rice, lentils, cooking oil, powdered milk, pasta and sugar.