Why Syria/Iraq?
(photo credit Sean Sheridan)
One of the most frequent questions we get is about the programs we are supporting and funding. What are they? Who runs them? How are they helping women? Why just Syria/Iraq, DRC and South Sudan?
Over the next week, we will be posting some answers to these questions. As always, you are welcome to contact us with any and all questions at info@onemillionthumbprints.org.
SYRIA/IRAQ - World Relief programs facilitated in both Jordan and Iraq
WHAT
Psychosocial counseling and support.
Basic needs distributions.
WHO
Many women and girls displaced by conflict in Iraq. Some have even escaped from captivity by ISIS. Syrian and Iraqi refugees have fled to both Iraq and Jordan. Some live in UN camps, but many live outside the protection of the UN in urban areas.
HOW
In the most isolated areas, World Relief provides water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, gear that protects displaced women and their families during harsh winters.
World Relief trains local counselors to facilitate support groups, provide individual counseling and offer lessons on topics of interest to displaced women. The support groups promote healing by empowering women with positive coping skills.
World Relief hosts groups for women where they receive psychological and social support. Mother's Groups also provide mothers with health and parenting resources that complement what their children are learning in children’s groups.
WHY
The "why" is always anchored in the story and face of an individual, a family. When we only talk about numbers and statistics or theoretical and philosophical reasoning, we miss the point of it all.
Over 70% of Syrian refugees live outside the protection of UN refugee camps
Unlike those inside the gates, these "urban refugee" families are left without access to education, food supplies or healthcare. These are the people One Million Thumbprints seeks to serve. For refugee women, these challenges are even greater. Women face a constant threat of sexual assault, domestic violence, and economic instability.
"One day a week, I walk into this place, and I can breathe," said Rasha, who recently fled from Syria into Jordan. This place is a World Relief mothers' group, run by a local Jordanian church. Here, she's no longer a refugee. Behind her visible scars, we see glimpses of the woman she truly is: a confident leader, mother and friend.
The mothers' groups offer safe and supportive community for displaced women from both Syria and Iraq. Using a family-focused health curriculum, the women in the group master basic skills that empower them to protect their children from common illnesses. This knowledge saves lives.
JOIN US as we seek to fund more programs likes these, programs that ensure survival, promote stability and eventually provide sustainable development for the displaced.