Lebanese charity helping Syrian refugees nominated for Nobel Prize

The AMEL Association - which was founded in 1979 - helps the poor in Lebanon gain access to healthcare, education and development programmes.

Now with Syrian refugees the ones living in abject poverty in Lebanon, AMEL is stepping to help out.

The nomination was a "success and pride", Kamel Mohanna, founder of the NGO, said.

While hundreds thousands of Syrian refugees have made Lebanon their temporary home, they have also endured systematic mistreatment by the Lebanese government, employers, security services, and large segments of the population.

AMEL - which operates through 24 centres in Lebanon - seeks to strengthen community ties between citizens, refugees and migrants.

In one of its centres, it helped around 600 Syrian women make a living through creating, branding and selling handicrafts, soaps and candles.

"I came to Lebanon as the crisis began in Syria five years ago... it was hard to find a suitable job as a refugee and I could not access the formal business sector," Mona Hamid, a 51-year-old Syrian refugee living in the suburbs of Beirut told IPS news agency.

"By joining [AMEL], I gained skills to sell and promote my items at local businesses and also showed them at exhibitions."

A recent report by Amnesty International found that Lebanon is hosting over 1.5 million refugees, making it the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

Other Nobel Peace Prize candidates include the Syrian civil defence force, the White Helmets, and Greek island volunteers helping Syrian refugees cross the Mediterranean.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced from Oslo on Friday.