Refugees

In collaboration with its local partners, IRC has set up the PARIC project in Burkina Faso and Mali, a programme to strengthen community resilience and inclusion. The project aims to support vulnerable populations in pastoral areas of Mali and Burkina Faso in the Mopti zone and the Soum province, which have been badly affected by armed conflict, and to meet their needs in terms of survival, health and nutrition. Through the Economic Recovery and Development component of the project, IRC is helping families from these regions, some of whom have been displaced to urban areas, to develop or restart their professional activities. In Pabré, a town close to the capital of Burkina Faso, Solidarités International, a partner under the supervision of IRC, provides cash assistance and a professional support service to families. This support enables displaced people, like Ramata, to access new opportunities, such as new agricultural land or access…

I was working as a teacher in Syria In 2015. One day in June, on my way to buy some gifts for my students, I was caught by the regime forces and detained for 10 days.  Before this, my family and I lived happily together. I’m a university graduate and worked as a teacher for six years. I had many friends and was a social person.  Then, our neighbors’ house was bombed and demolished.  My sister, brother and father died in the bombing. Once I was released from detainment, they imposed a one-month travel restriction on me, and I couldn’t leave the country. My mother and the sisters who survived the bombing had already fled to Jordan, so after waiting 30 days, I fled to Jordan to follow my surviving family.  When I arrived, I was sent to a refugee camp for two months. After that, I moved to Jerash…

In close partnership with Sudanese diaspora groups, we raised the alarm about how the war in Sudan is creating a famine and a massive humanitarian crisis. We documented mass atrocities by the RSF paramilitaries – and focused global pressure on the United Arab Emirates to stop supplying arms to the RSF. We helped successfully push the U.S. government to make a formal determination that atrocities are occurring in Sudan, and to appoint a special envoy to lead diplomacy to end the war.

In the heart of Sudan, where hope often feels fragile, a young mother named Fatima faced a nightmare no parent should endure. Fatima’s love for her son, Ramadan, became her guiding force as she sought refuge, medical care, and a fresh start.   For twenty-year-old Fatima, life in Khartoum had been peaceful. She lived with her mother and her two young children, including her thirteen-month-old son, Ramadan. But in April 2024, violence erupted in her hometown, disrupting their lives forever. When the conflict became too close, Fatima knew they had to leave. She traveled with her son to Gadaref, while her mother stayed in Kosti with Fatima’s young daughter. The journey was long and arduous — with countless checkpoints and uncertainty around every corner. Fatima recalls, “It was a tough journey, and I missed my family terribly. I just wanted to keep my children safe.” Once they reached the gathering site,…

Imagine leaving your home, your social network, your job and most of your physical possessions behind. Or consider working extremely long hours every day for months at a time, uncertain when the frantic pace will stop. Now, picture the gravity and significance of sharing your story for the first time after months of either serving or being individuals affected by conflict. This is the story for many in the wake of the crisis in Ukraine and why Medical Teams International is promoting mental health support in Ukraine and Moldova. During our initial assessment of the conflict in Ukraine, Medical Teams interviewed many Ukrainians who expressed increased stress and anxiety amongst themselves, colleagues, community members and society as a collective whole. Individuals spoke of losing all possessions and arriving with only the clothes on their backs. Others shared through tears having to leave elderly family members behind. To address the need for mental…

In 2018, due to ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebocwa and his wife Nadia had to leave their home and flee to Tanzania where they would have to restart their lives in the Nyarugusu Refugee Camp. Life was immediately challenging and Ebocwa was soon forced to make a difficult decision in order to support his wife and four children. Due to the limited ways of making some kind of income, Ebocwa decided to go into the nearby forest and start chopping trees to sell for firewood. Ebocwa continued this practice but hoped that he could find a better way to care for his family. He explained, “We were living in a tent and I began wondering how I could build a better house for us. Finally, in 2021 CWS came into our village and invited us to be part of the agriculture program. CWS came at the…