Archive for category: Refugees

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Aiding Over 2 Million Syrian Refugees

2 Million Syrian Refugees
Syria has been at the center of an ongoing civil war since 2011. The civil war displaced over 6.1 million people and over 5.6 million became refugees. With over 13 million people requiring humanitarian aid, Syria is in dire need of assistance. The COVID-19 pandemic affected over 1.1 million refugees and magnified the levels of food insecurity, joblessness and poverty. Children make up half of those suffering from the effects of the civil war. Luckily, since the beginning of the humanitarian crisis, the Maram Foundation has been aiding over 2 million Syrian refugees access the necessities they require.

The Maram Foundation’s Background

The Maram Foundation is a nonprofit organization that focuses on development projects in Syria. The nonprofit started by helping to establish the Olive Tree Atmeh camp for internally displaced persons (IDP). The Atmeh camp was home to over 28,000 people in northern Syria. A child in the Atmeh camp influenced the naming of the Maram Foundation. They suffered from paralysis as a result of shrapnel damage. The nonprofit currently works in refugee camps across Syria and in parts of Turkey and Jordan. Through the use of a series of development programs, the Maram Foundation has aided over 2 million Syrian refugees.

Development Programs

With 80% of Syrian refugees living below the poverty line, the Maram Foundation is providing direct support to the people through camp management, development and livelihood programs. The Camp Coordination and Camp Management program works to promote human rights within the Syrian refugee camps. These camps are temporary solutions to the ongoing crisis. The programs plan to improve the refugee camps to promote the living standards, safety and comfort of refugees.

The Maram Foundation uses early recovery strategies to ensure refugee camps are able to use humanitarian aid. It will foster sustainable development rather than create dependency. The Maram Foundation also works to ensure the refugee camps are free of abuse, violence and fear through community empowerment of women and children. Additionally, education programs are also working to ensure that children in refugee camps are able to receive the education they need. This will help them grow and develop professional skills.

Benefits of the Maram Foundation

As more than 9 million Syrians suffer from food insecurity, the Maram Foundation is also working to strengthen refugee camps. This will result in providing shelter and non-food items such as clothing. It will improve food, water and hygiene systems in Syria. The Maram Foundation seeks to ensure Syrian refugees have these resources.

The Food Security and Livelihood program works to build the resilience of refugees by providing them with the ability to grow their own food and combat malnutrition. The program has built resilience towards food scarcity across the refugee camps in Syria. The nonprofit provides a water, sanitation and hygiene program called WASH. This program provides refugees with access to clean water and waste disposal. The program takes action against the spread of contamination and disease. This protects the health and living standards of the refugee communities.

Looking Forward

The Maram Foundation has been aiding over 2 million Syrian refugees since the start of the crisis in 2011. The Maram Foundation has partnered with non-governmental organizations to get the funding it requires to carry out its work. With the ongoing pandemic, the Maram Foundation has continued to work in Syrian refugee communities to build pandemic resilient housing. Millions of people are suffering from the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria. The Maram Foundation for Relief and Development is working to promote the safety and dignity of the Syrian people.

– Gerardo Valladares
Photo: Flickr

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The Nazarene Fund’s Rescue Stories

Rescue Stories from the Nazarene Fund
The Nazarene Fund is an organization that focuses on rescuing people in captivity. This includes victims of sex slavery, the labor trade, organ harvesting and trafficking. The Nazarene Fund trains operators to lead these missions. These operators travel to the Middle East, Africa, Haiti and other regions of the world to rescue people. Here are some of The Nazarene Fund’s rescue stories.

Sonia’s Story

ISIS captured Sonia and her entire family when she was only 4 years old. Her family lived in Wardya, a village in Sinjar. ISIS abducted them from their home in 2014. Sonia became separated from her siblings. Later, traffickers imprisoned her in Mosul. Additionally, a family bought Sonia in Mosul nine months later. This family treated her as a slave during the five years they held her captive. The family and Sonia disappeared after ISIS’s defeat in Mosul. Thus, the Nazarene Fund launched a search mission for Sonia. Eventually, the organization found her in an orphanage in Mosul and reunited her with her already rescued family.

Halima’s Story

The second of The Nazarene Fund’s rescue stories has to do with Halima, a 22-year-old Yazidi woman. Traffickers abducted Halima in Turkey. She spent six years in captivity until The Nazarene Fund rescued her in July 2020. ISIS fighters kidnapped Halima and 18 relatives from her village in northern Iraq. Halima was only 16 years old. She was then enslaved and suffered from violence, abuse and exploitation for five years. ISIS made its last territorial stand in Baghuz, Syria in 2019. Moreover, Halima resided there along with other Yazidi women and children. Later, traffickers planned to sell her as a slave or harvest her organs. Fortunately, The Nazarene Fund intervened and reunited her with her family.

Mayada’s Story

Mayada Abo Chehwan is a 50-year-old Syrian woman born in the District of Hama. Her husband is a pharmacist and she has two daughters. However, everything changed when ISIS attacked. Bombs destroyed Mayada’s home and her husband’s pharmacy. As a result, they fled their home and sold their belongings to survive. The family spent months in neighboring towns and in Lebanon. They eventually returned home. However, the shelling of the town forced the family to flee again. Thus, they sought refuge in Iraq.

One of her daughters was diagnosed with diabetes and the other with severe anxiety. Meanwhile, her husband became partially paralyzed from heart disease. The daughters experienced sexual harassment and threats that others would sell them sex slavery while they searched for jobs. Mayada was becoming desperate. Thankfully, The Nazarene Fund operatives successfully relocated the family to housing in a safe area and provided them with the care and assistance they needed. The Nazarene Fund operatives continue to support the family and are helping them immigrate to Australia.

These are just a few of The Nazarene Fund’s rescue stories. The organization strives to help people who are in desperate need of assistance. Its goal is to rescue people who cannot help themselves and assist them in maintaining a safe, healthy life.

– Marcella Teresi
Photo: Flickr

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The US Provides Humanitarian Aid in Jordan

Humanitarian Aid in JordanThe U.S. provides foreign and humanitarian aid to countries around the world. In the country of Jordan where more than one million of its people live in poverty, humanitarian aid goes a long way. Providing aid from the United States means stronger U.S.-Jordan relations. Of the top 10 countries that received the most aid from the United States in 2019, Jordan was ranked at number three. Without a doubt, the U.S. provides for the overall well-being of this crucial ally through humanitarian aid in Jordan.

The Importance of Humanitarian Aid

The U.S. provided $1.5 billion worth of humanitarian aid to Jordan in 2020. The U.S. has additionally provided $1.7 billion to specifically help Syrian refugees in Jordan from the time the Syrian crisis began. This aid has been extremely crucial considering that many Syrian refugees have fled to Jordan in search of safety. Some of the aid contributes to updating medical facilities and enhancing critical infrastructure, which helps support the refugee crisis.

The U.S. and Jordan are also part of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding that both countries signed in 2018. Under this Memorandum, the U.S. will provide $6.375 billion worth of assistance to Jordan over a span of five years. Much of this assistance helps improve infrastructure and contributes to the construction of schools across Jordan. The United States has also trained Jordanian citizens in various skills in the U.S. itself. By doing this, the U.S. is giving Jordanians a chance to take the skills back to their own country to start businesses or to apply for higher-skilled jobs in Jordan, which will all stimulate the economy of Jordan.

An Increasing Population

The humanitarian aid and other forms of assistance that the U.S. provides to Jordan are important for a variety of reasons. Jordan has also become home to refugees that have fled from conflict in Iraq. In just the last 20 years, there has been a population increase of 10 million within the country. Such a large increase in population in just a short time has raised the cost of living within Jordan. The healthcare system of the country has been stressed along with the education system and the available water supply due to this intense population growth. Humanitarian aid in Jordan is all the more important because it helps alleviate the strain.

How Providing Aid Benefits the US

Humanitarian aid in Jordan helps the U.S. in several ways. Both countries have similar values and goals with regard to peacekeeping, such as a positive Israel-Palestine relationship. Additionally, both countries want “an end to violent extremism that threatens the security of Jordan, the region and the entire globe.” Jordan’s commitment to bring lasting peace between Israel and Palestine and eradicate terrorism in the region assists broader U.S. interests. The reason Jordan is so invested in the Israel-Palestine relationship is that Jordan is home to many Palestinians, most of which are the descendants of Palestinian refugees. Therefore, Jordan feels a deep sense of responsibility to the Palestinian people.

U.S. humanitarian aid in Jordan has far-reaching benefits. Aid is vital to the well-being of the Jordanian people, its Syrian refugees and the broader relationship between the U.S. and Jordan.

– Jacob E. Lee
Photo: Flickr

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9 Facts about IDPs in Colombia

9 Facts About IDPs in Colombia
For more than 50 years, Colombia grappled with a civil war that left more than 220,000 dead and millions displaced. The protracted issue of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) continues in the country despite the 2016 Peace Accord between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in rural Colombia. Here are nine facts about IDPs in Colombia.

9 Facts About IDPs in Colombia

  1. In 2019, there were approximately eight million IDPs in Colombia. This does not include the additional 1.7 million Venezuelan refugees in the country.
  2. There are still citizens being displaced since the peace agreement in 2016. As of 2019, the number of people of concern in Colombia has increased by 13%.
  3. The government lacks control of many rural regions of Colombia. Although FARC largely demobilized in 2016, there are other armed groups still controlling large swaths of the country that are perpetuating the IDP crisis. These groups are funded by the lucrative cocaine trade, which continues to thrive in unstable regions.
  4. Environmental impacts also play a role in the IDP situation. Colombia has the fourth-highest rate of deforestation in the world, a majority of which occurs in areas of origin for IDPs. Criminal elements and the government share responsibility for environmental degradation.
  5. Human rights activists are at risk. Since the 2016 Peace Accord, more than 400 human rights activists and environmental defenders have been killed in Colombia, many of which were from indigenous communities. These advocates are crucial in establishing crop substitution programs and helping resettle and empower IDPs.
  6. For IDPs living in urban areas, UNHCR and national NGOs have implemented the legalization of informal settlements. This has helped provide better access to government services, energy and the sewage system, along with lessening the stigma of not having ownership titles for housing. This UNHCR project has been ongoing since 2015 and has benefitted more than 24,000 IDPs.
  7. The Opción Legal NGO assists IDPs with reintegration into rural communities through legal means. Reintegration was included in the 2016 peace agreement but it is still in need of better implementation. With the help of funding from UNHCR, Opción Legal operates programs encouraging and strengthening political participation for IDPs. This NGO has assisted IDP populations in regions like Atlántico and Bolívar.
  8.  The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is supporting the implementation of the peace agreement. The agency is seeking out durable solutions to conflict, such as education and job training. The programs have benefitted more than 10,000 Colombians directly and 235,000 indirectly.
  9. USAID is working to build institutional trust in regions with high levels of IDPs. Vulnerable populations in addition to IDPs, such as women, community leaders, migrants and ethnic minorities, are all considered crucial populations for funding and empowerment. USAID also has a strategy to build capacity for youth leaders, which is viewed as a possible long-term solution for peace and self-reliance.

Looking Forward

The 2016 Peace Accord was a big step in working to improve livelihoods for millions of IDPs in Colombia. Although many challenges remain in implementation, the legal frameworks are in place for the country to continue toward its ultimate goals of peace and stability.

– Matthew Brown
Photo: Flickr

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A Pandemic in a Refugee Camp

A Pandemic in a Refugee Camp
Since the Venezuelan refugee crisis began in 2015, over 360,000 Venezuelans have fled to Ecuador where they have sought political and economic asylum away from the tumultuous governing in Venezuela. In Ecuador, Venezuelan refugees have created camps and have attempted to rebuild their lives to little avail due to xenophobia, limited job opportunities and harsh living environments. While these harsh living conditions have continued for the Venezuelan refugees for years, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified hardships. Spending the pandemic in a refugee camp involving cramped and overflowing shelters has caused refugees to become extremely vulnerable to contracting and dying from COVID-19.

No Access

For the hundreds of thousands of impoverished and unemployed Venezuelan refugees living in cramped refugee camps, it is challenging to social distance or to retrieve information on COVID-19. Moreover, with limited money focused on food, shelter and provisions, refugees have little left to spend on personal hygiene or personal protective equipment. As a result, refugees do not have access to much-needed medical supplies to keep safe from virus transmissions such as masks, sanitizers, gloves or vitamins. Consequently, transmission rates in refugee camps are disproportionately higher than their urban Ecuadorian city counterparts, yet the medical care is disproportionately lower.

As hospitals in Ecuador have become overrun by sick patients and Ecuadorian first responders have become absorbed with endless virus-related emergencies, Ecuadorian healthcare workers have had to choose which patients they will actually provide medical care to. This decision oftentimes coincides with heavy racism against Venezuelan refugees. Consequently, first responders have often chosen to respond to the rich Ecuadorian citizens living in urbanized areas over the far away, impoverished Venezuelan refugee camps. Similarly, Ecuadoran doctors prefer to provide medical care to the more affluent Ecuadorian citizens who can surely pay their hospital bills rather than the refugees. In turn, Venezuelan refugees are not always able to use Ecuadorian healthcare and instead have to fend for themselves without medical supplies, information about the virus or the ability to social distance.

A Solution for Refugees Surviving a Pandemic in a Refugee Camp

Because solving xenophobia in Ecuador or empowering and enriching refugees could not rapidly happen in time so that they could receive proper treatment during the pandemic, refugees had to take matters into their own hands by looking to new initiatives to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Alongside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Venezuelan refugee communities in Ecuador developed the Community Epidemiological Surveillance System in an attempt to rapidly discover COVID-19 cases in refugee camps. The system can detect individuals with COVID-19 for quarantine purposes and consequently reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission amongst refugee communities.

Once the system detects them, patients receive information about their diagnosis along with referrals for proper treatment. The system reports all cases to the national health authorities so that Venezuelan refugees can identify who they were in contact with so that all parties can undergo quarantine and testing for the virus.

How it Works

Since launching in July 2020, the Community Epidemiological Surveillance System has detected hundreds of cases and has prevented the further spread of the virus for thousands of refugees. By identifying a suspect COVID-19 case, the system is able to assess a localized community point of potential exposure for other refugees. Once discovered, the system registers all information upon a public health database that records exposed individuals and provides them with information and medical treatment for the virus. Furthermore, the Community Epidemiological Surveillance System records if a COVID-19 patient or exposed individual has access to personal protective equipment, has preexisting conditions or lives in overcrowded environments that would make them and their neighbors more susceptible to the virus.

UNHCR taught six refugee camps across Ecuador the process of contact tracing. Trained refugees can utilize the Community Epidemiological Surveillance System. This results in using telephone hotlines, community visits by healthcare workers and providing medical provisions. The system is curbing COVID-19 spread in a pandemic in a refugee camp for vulnerable Venezuelans who would have very few medical opportunities otherwise.

– Caroline Largoza
Photo: Flickr

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Changes in Foreign Aid to Greece from 2010-2020

Foreign Aid to Greece
The history of foreign aid to Greece dates back to the late 1940s and the Truman administration when the Marshall Plan underwent enactment. Although the Marshall Plan funding came to an end in 1951, the European nations collected almost $13 billion in aid. This money acquired shipments in fuel, food, machinery and more, creating investments in industrial capacity in Europe.

According to The George C. Marshall Foundation, between April 3, 1948, and June 30, 1952, the Marshall Plan provided grants to Greece in the amount of $706.7 million. Today, that would add over $69.7 million.

Council on Foreign Relations

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, in 1957, a common market-free area of trade emerged known as The Treaty of Rome. It led to the acceptance of Greece as the “10th member of the European Economic Community (EEC).”

The Council on Foreign Relations reported that in 1992, 12 member states of the ECC signed the Treaty of Maastricht forming the European Union (E.U.) and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This led to the 1999 Euro currency in existence today.

However, as the Council on Foreign Relations reported, in 1999 Greece could not adopt the Euro currency because it could not meet the economic rules that the Maastricht established. All members must meet the fiscal criteria. This means inflation has to be, “below 1.5 percent, a budget deficit below 3 percent, and a debit-to-GDP ratio below 60 percent.”

How Geography Affects Foreign Aid

The need for foreign aid to Greece continues due to its geographic location. Greece is a destination for refugees and asylum seekers. According to The Library of Congress LAW, the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the E.U. in 2011 found Greece was lacking in its ability to handle the influx of refugees. More reception centers are necessary to house them.

A plan proposal in 2010 led to more services for asylum seekers in Greece. Although the plan ultimately failed, some things underwent adoption such as Law 3907. It supplied more services such as appeals authority and first-line reception. In 2015, the influx of refugees overwhelmed Greece’s already inefficient system to fingerprint, register and house asylum seekers.

The humanitarian needs such as access to healthcare and education are great in reception centers for refugees. In 2016 the White House Press Secretary announced, “Since the start of Europe’s refugee crisis, the United States has contributed over $44 million in humanitarian aid through international organizations.”

Recent Actions

From 2014 to 2020, the Commission and European Union increased funding to Greece for asylum and immigration.

As a result, the Migration and Integration Fund provided Greece with €294.5 million (about $328 million). The Internal Security Fund – Borders and Visas presented €214.8 million (about $240 million). Another contribution under the European Refugee Fund was emergency funding of over €50.6 million Euros (about $56.5 million).

In 2019, the U.S. assisted Greece’s military when it signed a mutual defense cooperation agreement. The intention of this agreement is for the U.S. to spend on Greece’s military infrastructure.

The need to send foreign aid to Greece continues to grow especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Aljazeera reported, in September 2020, Greek authorities were still having trouble with overcrowding. It is still a struggle to house every migrant and refugee but with more funding, a change can hopefully occur.

– Kathleen Shepherd-Segura
Photo: Flickr

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Act For Peace’s Impact on Global Poverty

Impact on global poverty
Act For Peace is an Australian humanitarian organization. It provides aid to areas around the world that experienced the impact of global poverty and conflict. Working as the international aid agency for Australia’s National Council of Churches, Act For Peace is also a member of the ACT Alliance, a global combination of churches that supports humanitarian efforts in over 130 countries.

 

The Organization

Act For Peace participates in on-the-ground humanitarian efforts such as providing food, shelter, healthcare and education to communities in need. The organization also has a legislative agenda that focuses on global poverty reduction and safety efforts for vulnerable communities.

The United Nations entered the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) into force which is a treaty Act For Peace advocated for. ATT is the first global treaty to propose regulations on international arms and ammunition trading. The treaty has the goal of reducing the number of weapons that some use in human rights violations. It will regulate and track the selling and trading of weapons internationally. It also intends to decrease the number of legal weapons on the black market. Over 140 countries signed the treaty since 2014. Only 110 countries received approval or underwent official ratification.

Resources

Act For Change and the Near East Council of Churches Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR) offer multiple life-saving resources for the conflict-ridden community. The clinics provide free medicine, dental care, pre-and post-natal care, nutrition and psychosocial support for those the conflict affected. Act For Peace and the DSPR also offer vocational training programs for young people living in the Gaza Strip. This includes secretarial work, carpentry, English language classes and dressmaking. These programs prepare young people for employment, while also providing them opportunities to leave conflict areas and live lives void of danger and poverty.

Clean Water and Emergency Preparedness in Tonga

In an ACT Alliance partnership, Act For Peace and the Tonga National Council of Churches have worked to improve access to clean drinking water by building rainwater tanks in vulnerable areas of the country. The main effort in Tonga is educating communities on emergency preparedness as the country is highly susceptible to natural disasters. Humanitarian efforts include training on early-warning systems, stockpiling food and emergency action plans. The efforts focus on creating leadership roles within the villages. They also equip the communities with the knowledge to oversee their own preparedness and response plans.

Conservation Farming in Zimbabwe

Act For Peace’s ACT partner, Christian Care has provided new farming techniques to over 1,200 farmers living in drought-prone areas of Zimbabwe. The conservation farming methods focus on providing farmers with the skill and confidence to increase food security and extend the health of their crops through seasons of drought. Act For Peace is currently providing direct aid to over 13 countries and is supporting humanitarian efforts all over the globe through partnerships with the ACT Alliance, contributing towards making a great impact on global poverty. In more recent efforts, Act For Peace has several emergency appeals relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the developing world.

Act For Peace also has an annual fundraising campaign called, “The Christmas Bowl.”  It is an ode to the founding of the organization. Reverend Frank Byatt believed it was his Christian duty to share the joy of Christmas with those less fortunate around the world, thus making an impact on global poverty. His legacy has worked as the framework for the organization for the last 72 years.

– Kendall Couture
Photo: Flickr

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Bloody Good Period: Period Poverty in the UK

Period Poverty in the U.K.
Period poverty in the U.K. affects millions and the pandemic has exacerbated it. In 2017, research studies discovered that one in 10 girls in Britain could not afford period products. It also revealed that one in seven struggles to afford period products. Periods embarrass almost 50% of girls in the U.K. between the ages of 14 and 21. Meanwhile, one in seven have revealed that they do not know what happens when they have their period. Additionally, only one in five girls feels comfortable talking about their periods. In response to this, the nonprofit organization Bloody Good Period provides support for asylum seekers and refugees in the U.K.

What is Period Poverty?

Period poverty is a lack of access to period products and information on period products and menstruation. According to the charity Freedom4Girls, this issue affects more than 300 million around the world.

How Does Period Poverty Impact Asylum Seekers and Refugees?

Women who seek asylum in the U.K. receive 37.75 pounds ($52.90) a week to live on. This amount of money is not enough for women to live on or pay for monthly period products. Failed asylum seekers who cannot receive asylum support must rely on charities for their basic needs.

According to the Women for Refugee Women brief, 75% of the 78 women interviewed struggled to access period pads and tampons. These women had to overuse period products, improvise period wear or beg for money to pay for products. It is common for asylum-seeking women to have to choose to live without food or other basic needs to pay for period products. Period poverty makes it even more difficult for asylum-seekers to rebuild their lives.

What is Bloody Good Period?

Gabby Edlin started Bloody Good Period after helping refugee families at a London drop-in center. After learning that period products were not regularly passed out, Edlin questioned the logic. She started the organization with a simple Facebook message.

The organization takes a head-on approach to the issue, encouraging a simplistic approach that consults women on their period wants and needs. Bloody Good Period also works to start a conversation on periods to create a space where women do not feel ashamed of their period while reducing misinformation and increasing awareness. The organization is also partnering with The Body Shop, which funds education workshops on periods and menopause for refugees and asylum seekers.

Bloody Good Period’s Methods

Bloody Good Period’s partnership with The Body Shop has resulted in the donation of 10,000 packs to local charities and organizations for the homeless, women refugees, asylum seekers and refugees in the past year. The two organizations have been vital during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2021, Bloody Good Period has provided supplies to food banks, created community support groups and granted support to people facing domestic violence. It has also worked to aid asylum seekers, refugees and homeless shelters. The charity provided 53,000 products since the pandemic and 700 packs of menstrual products in March and April 2020. While Bloody Good Period has supplied a high number of products, the demand has been even higher during the pandemic.

Bloody Good Period’s work is necessary to fight period poverty in the U.K. Continuous support is always necessary, especially during the pandemic, because “periods don’t stop in a pandemic,” said Bloody Good Period’s founder Gabby Edlin.

– Nyelah Mitchell
Photo: Unsplash

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Higher Education Opportunities for Refugees

Higher Education opportunitiesWorldwide, 3.7 million refugee children are not in school. This is more than half of the 7.1 million school-age refugees. The higher the level of education, the less likely it is that a refugee attends school. Data from a 2019 UNHCR report shows that only 3% of refugees are enrolled in some form of higher education. Evidence suggests that education leads to less reliance on humanitarian aid. Online learning may present a possible solution. The benefits of higher education opportunities for refugees range from increased economic prosperity to higher levels of confidence, creativity and leadership.

Inclusive Education

One of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is inclusive educational access for all. This includes more access to higher education for refugees. The UNHCR’s Refugee Education 2030 strategy aims to achieve educational parity on all levels and raise the enrolment of refugees in higher education to 15%. A hybrid model of online and in-person instruction is becoming more popular. Increased interest and investment in online learning and degree certification could potentially provide new opportunities in higher education for refugees.

Providing Opportunities

Launched in March 2019, a hybrid learning initiative in Turkey has proven successful, serving more than 28,000 Syrian refugee students. The UNDP Turkey’s Syria Crisis Response and Resilience Programme started the initiative in order to offer easily accessible Turkish language lessons to Syrian refugees for them to better integrate into Turkish society. The initiative is funded by the European Union and implemented in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Education. The online language program is flexible, personalized and offers in-person meetings with an instructor. This is in addition to an array of online courses. Since the content is online, students can continue with their courses even if their living situation changes. Furthermore, a continuous reliable internet connection is not necessarily needed.

The University at Albany offers online medical courses in Arabic to Syrian refugees. The program launched in 2016 with 320 students enrolled. The courses give refugees who already have some form of higher education the chance to continue taking courses in their respective fields. The program also includes English language classes. It is part of a catalog of many other similar initiatives on the website MOOCs4inclusion. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free digital education classes. MOOCS are accessible anywhere there is an internet connection.

Barriers to Learning

Western universities develop and teach the majority of online courses and degree programs used in refugee camps. However, the majority of refugees do not end up in a Western country, they stay in the refugee camp or return home. In order for online education to be truly successful, courses must take the particular circumstances of refugees into account. Researchers at the University of Geneva, Paul O’Keeffe and Abdeljalil Akkari, started a basic medical training course in Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp. The goal of the online course was to focus on relevant health issues in the area of Kakuma. The refugees helped inform the course content. Culturally relevant courses and an understanding of life in a refugee camp are important to implement successful online education geared toward refugees. Another barrier often encountered is that reliable internet is usually a necessity for online learning, yet a rare resource in most refugee camps.

Solutions

Education for Humanity, a program of Arizona State University (ASU), uses technological innovations to break down some of the common barriers of online higher education opportunities for refugees. The program includes education on how to be a successful digital learner and the option of “earned admissions” for refugees without the required documents or qualifications for enrollment. In order to break down the internet barrier, Education for Humanity uses technology that does not require reliable access to the internet.

SolarSPELL is a solar-powered digital library that acts as an offline WiFi hotspot. Students access the course content by connecting their phone, tablet or laptop to the SolarSPELL’s offline WiFi signal. A whole 95% of the content is available offline and is available for download so students can still study without being connected to SolarSPELL. In 2019, Education for Humanity used SolarSPELL to offer an agribusiness course in the Nakivale refugee camp in Uganda.

Easier access to education for refugees is an important goal. Recent innovations such as SolarSPELL aim to break down barriers so that refugees can access higher education opportunities to ensure a promising future.

– Caitlin Harjes
Photo: Flickr

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Organizations in Costa Rica Aiding Vulnerable Groups During COVID-19

Organizations in Costa RicaAs of March 2021, Costa Rica has seen more than 200,000 COVID-19 cases. In January 2021, Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado announced a signed budget to allocate funding for COVID-19 vaccines to 3.7 million residents older than 18. At the same time, organizations in Costa Rica are working to alleviate poverty and support refugees and citizens affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

HIAS Costa Rica

According to HIAS, a nonprofit that protects refugees worldwide, Costa Rica hosted 80,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Nicaragua and 20,000 from El Salvador, Colombia, Honduras and Venezuela. HIAS Costa Rica has focused on providing legal support and gender-based violence protection for asylum seekers since 2017. In an interview with The Borgen Project, HIAS Costa Rica’s country director, Gabriela Nunez, explains that the HIAS mission is to protect people seeking refuge in other countries.

Nunez states that the HIAS Costa Rica established the Supporting Economic Inclusion of Refugees and Asylum-Seeking Women Affected by COVID-19 project with the British Embassy. This project aided 20 Costa Rican women entrepreneurs affected by the pandemic by helping them develop skills to strengthen and innovate their businesses.

In late 2019, HIAS Costa Rica authorized an employment market study “to help design interventions that promote safe and sustainable livelihoods and help vulnerable people become self-reliant.” This study resulted in HIAS working on socioeconomic support projects including the Poverty Alleviation Coalition with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

HIAS Costa Rica’s collaboration with the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration helps with the Venezuelan refugee response on the R4V platform. R4V is a Venezuelan migrant and refugee coordination platform that has addressed Venezuelan migrant needs with partner organizations since 2018. R4V partner organizations helped 705 Venezuelans in Costa Rica acquire medical insurance in February 2021. Additionally, 16 Venezuelan homes obtained rental assistance in Costa Rica and 67 refugees received food.

The International Organization for Migration

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) began working with Costa Rica in 1954. The organization focuses on protecting immigrants in the country and improving the Costa Rican emigration process. IOM Costa Rica also collaborates with the government and partner organizations to address immigration challenges in Costa Rica.

The IOM supported the implementation of health protocols included in a binational agreement in which migrants work to harvest coffee in Los Santos, Costa Rica. The protocols called for the coffee companies to provide COVID-19 tests for 20% of the migrants entering Costa Rica, and on arrival, migrants must be quarantined for 14 days. Furthermore, in February 2021, the IOM donated emergency supplies to the Community Emergency Committee of Frailes in Desamparados, San José. The organization also opened a sixth migrant center in Limón, Costa Rica, in January 2021. The center focuses on integrating migrants into the workforce as a strategy to support Costa Rica.

Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children

The Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC) has represented Alajuelita, Costa Rica, since 2004. In 2020, FIMRC established a virtual volunteer program. FIMRC developed Project Alajuelita to serve the 12,500 Nicaraguan refugees and low-income Costa Ricans in the area. The organization established a clinic near Alajuelita because refugees are often excluded from the national healthcare system.

FIMRC field operations manager for Costa Rica, Tatiana Blanco, told The Borgen Project that the WhatsApp health education campaign and telepsychology line was initiated to replace group clinical care and health education programs during COVID-19. FIMRC director of global operations, Madeleine Randolet, told The Borgen Project that the Alajuelita WhatsApp campaign reached 630 people. The WhatsApp communications with those people totaled more than 40,000 messages throughout the pandemic. Randolet also stated that almost 40% of primary care and 84% of psychology sessions in Project Alajuelita were offered through virtual consultations in 2020. FIMRC delivered medications and health education to patients while maintaining social distancing protocols.

The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation

The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation (CRHF) based in Santa Ana, Costa Rica, has helped indigenous and poverty-stricken populations since 1997. Its work recently focused on the 25,000 people living in La Carpio, Costa Rica. CRHF maintains its integral values of innovation, integrity, cooperation and cost-efficiency in all of its projects. CRHF executive director, Gail Nystrom, told The Borgen Project that the CRHF established two schools and programs relating to sports, refugees and women’s support in La Carpio. Nystrom reports that the CRHF fed 2,000 people per week with near-expired food. CRHF accomplished this through an Auto Mercado supermarket partnership that employed 10 people during COVID-19. Nystrom notes that the CRHF built five clinics in an indigenous area of Costa Rica. CRHF completed this task with help from a Japanese government grant in 2020.

Organizations in Costa Rica have focused on protecting vulnerable areas of Costa Rica during COVID-19. With assistance and aid from organizations, Costa Ricans can look toward a brighter tomorrow.

– Evan Winslow
Photo: Flickr