The organization started in 2016 and now has projects in Switzerland and Lebanon.
The physical and mental challenge of climbing can have many therapeutic benefits. Pablo Benedito. CC BY-NC 4.0.
ClimbAID, a non-profit organization that works with refugees, operates a moving rock wall in Lebanon. The project, A Rolling Rock, was unleashed in a pilot session in 2017 and has shown great promise. Using climbing as an alternative therapy is not all that new but is often limited due to lack of access to climbing areas. The prevalence of gyms and surge of support for indoor climbing and bouldering is making climbing more accessible, but only for those that can afford it. A Rolling Rock fixes this by bringing the climbing directly to the kids. Because it is bouldering it requires less gear than top-rope climbing allowing for lower costs. In addition, it removes barriers of transporting children without papers through military controlled regions.
One-third of Lebanon’s population is refugees. Since the Syrian war started in 2011, 1.5 million Syrian refugees remain in the country. Lebanon’s security is a balance of political and cultural importance. After their own 15-year civil war mostly spurred by unequal representation of the three main religious groups in the country, Lebanon found a solution that works only with equal populations of Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, and Christians. It has functioned this way since the 1990s. The 2 million refugees now residing within Lebanon’s boarders are almost all Sunni Muslim, having fled Syria or Palestine. If the refugees can never return home, this would greatly upset the delicate balance currently supporting the government. Additionally, the country is facing an extreme economic downfall, much of which is blamed on Syrian refugees. The country even started deporting refugees for the first time this past May.
ClimbAID hopes that by providing an outlet for refugee children, most of whom are not in school, and to encourage common ground and bonding between different groups in Lebanon, that the xenophobia might begin to decrease. Additionally, climbing has been found to be beneficial in fighting mental health issues and trauma. A study done in 2005 found that climbing reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Climbing has been incorporated into wilderness-based therapy programs and small non-profits in the US such as Sacred Rok, an organization working in Yosemite Valley with at-risk youth. Their potential is still being researched but many studies have continued to release positive results.
ClimbAID’s program in Switzerland has seen good results as well. In 2018, they had on average six climbing sessions a week. They too have faced issues with decreases in government support to refugees. There is now a gap of social integration programs for refugees within Switzerland. Climbing can help fill the hole left by changes in governmental policies and can encourage bonding and German language skills.
Most importantly, though, ClimbAID provides a space where children that have been displaced, have experienced deep trauma, and now live well below the poverty line in a country where they are not completely welcomed, are accepted, where they can have fun, and a place where they can excel. This is extremely beneficial in building confidence and social skills that are necessary for having a promising future.
DEVIN O’DONNELL’s interest in travel was cemented by a multi-month trip to East Africa when she was 19. Since then, she has continued to have immersive experiences on multiple continents. Devin has written for a start-up news site and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Neuroscience.