Heavy bombing has forced thousands of Syria's young girls and boys to flee their towns and villages to avoid joining the dead or wounded.
Their new life is hard, fraught with confusion and need. Many have fled their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs and risk developing illnesses due to lack of sanitation in the camps' tough environments. This problem is particularly acute for young girls, many of whom are without their mothers. The lack of feminine hygiene products and underwear often forces them to use unsafe materials, frequently leading to infection and disease. And sadly, the trauma of the war means children are particularly vulnerable to being neglected or worse - exploited through child labour or child marriage.
We will not forget Syria's children at this time of greatest need - and we hope you won't either
Hurras will work to mitigate these issues by preparing protection kits to give to 440 children upon their arrival at the camps, which also means we can identify and monitor children in need of further support. We have put together backpacks containing the essentials to keep children healthy, safe and aware of the dangers of their new lives. Toothbrushes, soap and sanitary towels for the girls will help to keep them healthy, whilst fresh underwear, shoes and socks will support their physical and psychological wellbeing, and Hurras' child protection leaflets will make them aware of their rights, the warning signs to look out for and how to contact Hurras' staff. We've also provided small toys for the children to welcome them into the camp and keep them entertained and distracted from their often hard existence.
With your help, we can support Syria's children at one of the most potentially distressing times of their lives, bringing a sense of normalcy and dignity whilst helping to keep them safe from harm. Crucially, for the first time in a long time during this conflict, you can let them be just children again, if only for a moment.
8 year old Khaled was forced to flee with his family to avoid being killed or buried under the rubble from bombings. They stayed in a camp in a safer town that had not been bombed yet. But Khaled did not feel safe, because he left his toys, storybooks, and colours behind at home. The sound of explosions, fear, and panic caused him anxiety that he couldn’t get over. For four days Khaled cried and refused to leave his tent.
Hurras' response team and case management department worked together to help Khaled to overcome the trauma he was experiencing through group activities and games that help children to communicate, better understand their own feelings and thoughts, and prevent or resolve psychosocial challenges.
The response team also succeeded in bringing a smile to Khaled's face through the new clothes, the sketchbook and the colours that Khaled received in his Protection Kit which helped him through the initial period of pain, hardship, and bitter displacement.
We can all play our part in helping children like Khaled, innocent victims of war, and relieve their painful reality by providing them with protection kits.
One protection kit costs just £22.50 and supports a child to be the kid they were before bombs started falling around them.
What you need to know
The Protection Kits
The Protection Kits will include towels, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste, combs and nail clippers as well as clothes, hats, a battery flashlight and toys. Please note - we are still working to put these kits contents together based on the continually-changing situation so more contents will be added or changed based on the greatest need. Given the state of emergency and the particular vulnerabilities and requirements of these children, we are trying to work as fast as possible to support them. We hope you can help us make this happen.
Our funding target:
With over 152,000 newly displaced people to support, we are working to provide aid to as many people as they possibly can with your generous support. The situation on the ground is changing day to day and as such, if campaigns do not reach their targets - or should we raise more money than is needed for this emergency appeal - we will use ours and our partners’ expertise to discern how to reallocate funds where they are needed most. In either case, contributors will be informed where this money is being spent and why.
Distribution of funds:
Due to the urgency, CanDo has agreed to release funds directly to partners for the specific emergency on a weekly basis based on assessment of needs.
How else can I help:
There are many ways you can use your voice to make a difference:
Convince two other people to support the campaign and you’ll treble your impact
Share our message and our campaign to #Rise4Idlib tagging journalists, media outlets and socially-conscious celebrities to help raise awareness of the atrocities happening and the need for the international community to respond
Keep up to date with our work via our Facebook
Find out more:
Read more about the latest attacks on the BBC, Guardian, Relief Web and Reuters
Comments
Dear CanDoers - we're delighted to let you know that this project has been successfully completed now and all 688 children received their protection kits including Mariam who drew this picture and told us that its the first time she laughed since she had to flee her house. We encourage you to read the impact report on our campaign page so you know just what a huge difference you made in these childrens lives. thank you"
Dear CanDoers - we're delighted to let you know that this project has been successfully completed now and all 688 children received their protection kits including Mariam who drew this picture and told us that its the first time she laughed since she had to flee her house. We encourage you to read the impact report on our campaign page so you know just what a huge difference you made in these childrens lives. thank you/Users/snvm/Desktop/maryam.jpeg
On behalf of the children of Syria who benefited from “The joy bags” initiative, thank you for your contribution to our campaign. We used your thoughtful gift to put a smile on the faces of 500 children affected by this ugly war. thanks again for your generous support. Without you, we couldn't reach our goal.
Thank you for being one of 27 brilliant people supporting our project. We have just over 7 hours to find the last £2700 that will ensure this project helps protect and support the most vulnerable children in camps in bombarded Northern Syria right now. Please ask a friend, colleague or loved one if they are able to support the innocent victims of this cruel war
Children are most likely to suffer during the war and conflict, like Karam who lost his house, friends, school, and toys. With the help of these beautiful initiatives such as "The joy Bags" made by Hurras and the help of your kind hearts, the faces of these children can blossom again with beautiful smiles even in wartime and refugee camps.
We still need 30% to reach our goal and that means 150 children are waiting for you.
Making a child smile is the responsibility of all of us. Watch our video now: https://youtu.be/X5aK9GkIISE
Ur amazing
Thank you with all our hearts for supporting the campaign of "The joy bags" that aims to help displaced children in Idlib.
As the campaign enters its final week, we still need your support to deliver the largest number of bags to draw a smile on the faces of children affected by this war.
Over the past week, the villages of the eastern countryside of Idlib witnessed a continuous bombardment on civilian houses.
Schools and hospitals have been directly hit by aircraft and explosive barrels, depriving children of their right to education and health. From May 20, 2019, until now, 11 hospitals were targeted in addition to 18 schools.
All these serious violations pose a long-term risks to children and have dangerous side-effects on their personalities and the building of their future and cause psychological trauma due to the scenes of death and the fears for the loss of homes, school and friends, in addition to depriving them of a stable education that help them to develop themselves in the future.
Many families and children are forced to leave their homes daily in search of safer areas. In these difficult circumstances, we must do our best to provide the children with the necessary support.
Thanks to your support over the last three weeks of "The Joy Bags” campaign, we are now starting the process of verifying the merchants and suppliers who will supply materials for the preparation of The Joy Bag to be distributed to children between the ages of 6-15.
We also wish that you share this campaign with friends and family on social media sites in order to achieve the desired goal.
Thank you again and we promise you that the smile will blossom on the faces of our children despite the war, destruction, and displacement.
I wish I could do more. Bless you
Thank you with all our hearts for supporting and we promise you that the smile will blossom on the faces of our children despite the war, destruction, and displacement.
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