“I’m crying every day.”
By Chris Niles ERBIL, Iraq, 20 October 2013 —Dima, 12, dreams of becoming a doctor. There are days, in Kawergosk refugee camp, when that ambition seems very far away. “The situation is not very nice here. I would like to leave this place as soon as possible,” Dima says. The family, which is part of […]
Emergency school supplies help conflict-affected children in Syria back to learning
By Tomoya Sonoda & David Youngmeyer* DAMASCUS, 19 October 2013 – A Back to Learning campaign in Syria has reached more than 400,000 conflict-affected children with school bags and education supplies, although security and funding challenges continue to hamper humanitarian efforts.
Kuwaiti funds build modern sanitation facilities in northern Iraq
By Chris Niles ERBIL, Iraq, 13 October 2013 — On a hot Sunday afternoon in Darashakran refugee camp in Kurdistan, four girls are on their way to collect water. They range in age from 10 to 12 and are carrying plastic water containers and saucepans.
A city surrounded by conflict struggles to cope under weight of displacement
Field Diary By Mougabe Koslengar, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Specialist, UNICEF IDLEB, 18 October 2013 – As we drive through the countryside of Syria’s north-west Idleb governorate, we pass many villages devoid of life. I see buildings riddled with bullet holes and holed by shells. Part of an apartment block has collapsed.
Happy Eid. Don’t forget us
By Chris Niles ERBIL, Iraq, 20 October 2013 —The Muslim holiday of Eid is traditionally a time for family gatherings, feasting and celebration, one that has extra significance for children. On Tuesday morning, the first day of the four-day holiday last week, Kawergosk refugee camp is quiet. At home, before the conflict, extended families would […]
Children and families trapped in Al Waer, Homs, face dramatic worsening of humanitarian conditions
Field Diary By Abdulkadir Musse, Senior Emergency Specialist, UNICEF HOMS, 9 October 2013 – An eerie calm descends over Al Waer, a suburb on the north-western outskirts of the city of Homs, as we enter this area that is home to some 400,000 people caught in the middle of on-going conflict. I am part of […]
Journey of a schoolbag in Za’atari
ZA’ATARI, Jordan, 8 October 2013 — This week UNICEF Jordan together with partner Save the Children Jordan are finishing the distribution of school bags and supplies to students at Za’atari School 2. Throughout the summer, School 2 was running catch up classes for children who had missed school, so first semester started at the beginning of […]
UNICEF emergency education support in Tartous, western Syria
TARTOUS, Syria, 7 October 2013 — Many children in Syria face extraordinary challenges to continuing their education. The on-going conflict has left almost 4,000 schools – or around one in five – damaged, destroyed or sheltering internally displaced families. Some 2 million children in Syria have been displaced.
Improving community support and spirit for vulnerable families across Jordan
By Toby Fricker ZARQA, Jordan, 30 September 2013 — The sound of children singing can just be heard above the steady rumble of traffic. “I wonder if it’s your face that is glowing or the moon above the trees,” they sing. It’s a traditional Arab folk song. This is Zarqa, a busy and bustling city, just […]
You reach the point where you don’t care about anything at all
By Chris Niles ERBIL, Iraq, 30 September 2013 —Visiting a refugee camp is a very personal experience for Maulid Warfa. “It’s like going back in time,” he says. UNICEF Iraq’s South Zone Chief is based in Basra, but he’s come north to help with the influx of more than 61,000 refugees who have arrived from […]
With gaps in their education, girl refugees worry about their future
By Chris Niles ERBIL, Iraq 30 September 2013 — Imagine what it’s like to sit idle all day; with trauma behind you, and uncertainty ahead. Too many children and young people are playing a waiting game in Baherka refugee camp in northern Iraq, wondering what the future holds.
WASH “Information saves lives,” mapping the needs in Iraq’s refugee camps
By Chris Niles ERBIL, Iraq 24 September 2013 — Feces is a favourite topic of conversation for Ximena Contla, and she’s the first to admit that this can sometimes make her a poor dining companion.
