Justice and Human Rights Syrian Arab Republic Project #21640

Syrian Refugee Crisis: CARE at the front lines

by CARE

Syrian Refugee Crisis: CARE at the front lines

Project Report | Dec 13, 2018
UPDATE CARE's Support of the Syrian Refugee Crisis

By Kate Nichols | Director of Development, CARE USA

A business incubator for displaced Iraqi women and a mental health mobile service with a smartphone application aiding confidential outreach to domestic violence survivors from Syria were the winners of the inaugural Relay! GBV Challenge, the global humanitarian organization CARE announced at the conclusion of the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) campaign.

The Lotus Flower Organisation from Iraq, which runs the business incubator, and the Syrian Expatriate Medical Association (SEMA) of Turkey, developers of a GBV awareness mobile application, won the Relay! GBV Challenge after a month-long call for the best initiatives addressing Gender-based Violence in the Middle East and North Africa. As the grand prize winners among the 90 applications from Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq, Lotus Flower and SEMA will receive additional funds for their programs and a partnership with CARE staff in their countries to further the programs’ work and impact.

The Relay! GBV Challenge began accepting applications in October. The challenge aimed to surface the best interventions that are working to respond, prevent and understand gender-based violence in various contexts throughout the region. CARE identified particular scenarios in each country that detailed target population and GBV specifics, for example, early marriage in Jordan or sexual harassment in Egypt. Local organizations replied to country-specific challenges and highlighted their best initiatives displaying the most promise. Eleven (11) semi-finalists were chosen in November and the final two winners were decided based on a rigorous judging process by CARE senior staff and other international organizations’ leadership.

Gender-based violence is one of the greatest barriers to gender-equity and can encompass a wide range of dangerous and sometimes invisible tactics, from financial intimidation, harassment, to physical abuse and murder. The work to address GBV is critical to save the lives and livelihoods of some of the most vulnerable populations around the word. In 2017 alone, 50,000 women were killed by family members or intimate partners, and statistics show that at least 1 in 5 refugee women experience sexual violence. The needs of women and girls are great, and CARE takes a holistic approach, including awareness training, financial and resource assistance, health care, and counseling.

CARE believes that violence against women is a human rights violation, and knows that preventing and responding to it requires a network of change-makers, allies, and advocates. The Relay! GBV challenge hopes to infuse resources and capacity to work that is making a marked difference in communities. The great work from other organizations and support of the entire community of actors, is pivotal to creating a world of dignity, safety, and security for women and girls. Congratulations to Lotus Flower and SEMA!

Notes on the two winners:

SEMA provides psychological support to individuals through a physical center and, as a RELAY! Winner, will develop a new smartphone application to increase outreach directly and confidentially with GBV survivors, offering a suite of support services.

The Lotus Flower are local implementers that support women and girls impacted by conflict and displacement. As a RELAY! Winner they will use the grant to scale up their Women's Business Incubator to provide a financial foundation and business mentorship for women-led small businesses.

SOURCE: https://www.care.org/newsroom/press/press-releases/winners-relay-gbv-challenge-announced

Links:

https://www.care.org/newsroom/press/press-releases/winners-relay-gbv-challenge-announced

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Sep 14, 2018
UPDATE Syrian Refugee Crisis: Catastrophe in Idlib

By Kate Nichols | Director of Development, CARE USA

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are at immediate threat of displacement and their lives could be endangered by a large scale military offensive on Idlib. The area is home to 3 million people, two thirds of whom are already in need of aid. And nearly half of the population has already been displaced from other parts of Syria and lives in difficult conditions. They might not have a place to go, no refuge from bombs and airstrikes. If those men, women and children have to move again in search for safety, they will slip more into vulnerability and will be at risk of diseases, not to mention death. We could be witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe unlike anything we have seen in Syria since the beginning of the conflict.

Close to 3 million people are estimated to be in the Idleb de-escalation zone, which comprises parts of Idleb, western Aleppo, northern Hama and eastern Latakia governorates.
Out of this total, 1.4 million people are internally displaced and 1 million are children (according to Unicef).
2/3 of this total are people who need aid.
Up to 900,000 people could be displaced in the case of a large scale military offensive on the area.
The UN and humanitarian partners require US $311 million for the cross-border response and the response from within Syria for people affected by the crisis in the North-West.

CARE works in Idlib through Syrian organizations that have been our partners for years. Syrian aid workers are at the front line of the response, distributing much needed food and non-food items, clean water, clothes, blankets, cash, rehabilitating collective shelters, and extending psycho-social support to thousands of people in need. But CARE does not stop there. Since the start of the year, CARE and its partners have reached more than 300,000 people, extending support to the most vulnerable for their basic needs but also working with people to restore livelihoods, particularly agriculturally based ones, protect maternal health, and repair small infrastructure.

We are in the process of positioning stocks and assistance to respond to the immediate needs of 75,000 people at the onset of mass displacement. We are planning to distribute food baskets, ready to eat food rations, non-food and shelter items for newly displaced people, hygiene items, clean water and jerry cans, emergency latrines, cash, as well as providing psychosocial support.

CARE is at the front lines of the refugee crisis in Syria, and we thank you again for your generosity. As we deliver on our mission by providing assistance, we encourage you to fight with CARE through your continued support.

Links:

Aid agencies call on world powers to avoid a catastrophe

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Jun 18, 2018
UPDATE Syrian Refugee Crisis: How CARE Responds

By Kate Nichols | Director of Development, CARE USA

CARE Responds to the Refugee Crisis

Intense fighting in Syria has forcibly displaced more people today than any other country. Every day, thousands of Syrians flee violence to seek out food, protection, medical care and other urgently needed aid. There are 13.5 million people inside Syria displaced or in desperate need of humanitarian aid. At least half of the displaced are children. The majority of the nearly 5 million refugees are struggling to meet the most basic needs, having left everything behind. CARE is reaching people impacted by the conflict with humanitarian assistance in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen and inside Syria, providing life-saving emergency assistance as well as solutions to help people cope with the longer term crisis.

Conflict-driven refugee crises present special challenges for women and girls, who often face gender-based violence, inadequate health care and the burden of supporting families in new ways. Women who have lost husbands to war often have to take on greater responsibility, earning incomes on top of workloads at home. Girls, meanwhile, face increased pressure to marry early or drop out of school to work or help with home chores. All this while coping with the trauma of being violently uprooted from home.

But CARE knows women and girls also are the key to preventing a “lost generation” in protracted refugee crises like that in Syria. That’s why CARE’s programming helps women earn a living and girls not only go to school but also hold on to their hopes and dreams for the future. CARE supports youth in activities such as filmmaking and martial arts. We help families pay rent in exchange for sending their girls and boys to school. And CARE supports women through vocational trainings in gastronomy, beautification, and even some of the non-traditional fields such as electronic repairs. CARE also provides women entrepreneurs with equipment to launch their businesses.

More than seven years since the beginning of the crisis, the situation in Syria is still grim and the suffering of the people is far from the end. As CARE, we are committed to help affected communities, inside Syria and around the region, while still advocating for an end to the crisis. Thank you for your generosity which equips us to save lives, achieve social justice, and solve global poverty.

CARE Responds to the Refugee Crisis

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