Refugees from Lebanon: finding hope in climbing
The non-profit organization ClimbAid aims to foster the physical and psycho-social development of refugee children and teenagers through climbing.
In 2017, over a three-month period, they organized climbing sessions in refugee camps and schoolyards in the Beqaa Valley (Lebanon), with the “Rolling Rock”, a mobile climbing wall built on a small truck. Regardless of nationality, religion or gender, more than 400 kids, teens and grown-ups climbed the Rock.
What started as a psycho-social project to fight boredom and depression in Syrian refugee settlements, quickly became a magnet that brought together Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian refugees, volunteers and humanitarian aid workers from all over the globe. Without any doubt, one of the highlights was the visit of the climber Nina Caprez, who has supported the project since the beginning.