Global Refugee Fund

Today we are witnessing the largest number of refugees ever reported – an unprecedented global crisis. The figures are devastating. 65.6 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes. 22.5 million of them are refugees, of which over half are children. Around the world, IsraAID has put the needs of refugees and displaced people at the forefront of what we do.

Below are the personal stories of two people, both of whom have fled war and violence in their home countries, who have dedicated themselves to supporting refugee children through IsraAID’s programs.

Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya

Taha (pictured above) is a facilitator at IsraAID's Child Resource Center in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, bringing fun and joy to children who have fled war, violence, hunger and drought. Taha is also a refugee himself from Darfur. Eight years ago, he escaped violent conflict, leaving his friends and family behind. He is one of more than 185,000 refugees living in Kakuma. Nearly 60% of refugees in Kakuma are under the age of 17.

After training with IsraAID, Taha is committed to supporting children who have experienced severe trauma. He is now a leader and role model in the refugee camp, running youth mentorship programs. The Child Resource Center is a secure oasis for over 150 children a day, providing recreational activities, safe water, and the chance to simply be kids.

“Hearing about each child's personal situation – everything that has led them to Kakuma and our center – reminds me of what I have been through, escaping from my home with no idea if or when I will be able to return. When I see a smile on the face of a child who has experienced indescribable trauma, I know that I am doing something good.”

IsraAID is in Kenya supporting the physical, medical and psycho-social needs of refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp & Kalobeyei Settlement.

Lesbos, Greece

Najwa (pictured below) is a French teacher from Damascus. Faced by the ongoing, brutal conflict in Syria, she managed to escape with her husband and six-year old daughter, Aya. They eventually made it to Algeria, where the family split up and Najwa began the arduous journey to Europe with Aya, alone. They arrived on the shores of Lesbos just a few months ago. Today, this Greek island hosts around 10,000 refugees, largely from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Refugees in Lesbos live in an uncertain limbo, struggling for access and opportunity. There are more than 1,500 refugee children on the island without a school to go to. Najwa and Aya, however, were able to find some normalcy through the School of Peace.

Run by IsraAID in partnership with Hashomer Hatzair and the Ajial Movement of Arab Educators, the school provides a safe, stable environment for over 150 children aged six to sixteen. They learn crucial subjects like Mathematics and English in their mother tongue and the teachers are refugees themselves.

With her professional experience, Najwa was delighted to join the faculty of the School of Peace, making a real difference to the lives of children like Aya.

IsraAID is in Greece responding to the medical, educational and psycho-social needs of refugees.

Thank you for your support! More updates to follow ...

Thousands of refugees continue to arrive in Greece every month! 

Today, IsraAID's mobile medical team is the only unit operating on the north shores of Lesbos island. Our volunteer doctors and nurses provide emergency medical care to refugees following their incredibly arduous journeys.

Since just mid-August 2017, over 16,000 refugees and migrants, 40% of which are children, arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos seeking passage into Western Europe. This total, is more than double the number of new arrivals for the same period in 2016.

Today, there is a total of approximately 10,000 refugees living in Lesbos. However, the number is growing on a weekly basis and with the onset of winter it is expected to continue increasing.

In 2015 and early 2016, many international aid organizations were stationed on the island to receive and provide aid to the new refugees. However, after mid-2016 many left Lesbos as the number of arrivals gradually began to reduce. Since then, IsraAID has been a key part of UNHCR's central response plan, providing urgent medical care to the refugees arriving on the northern shoreline.

IsraAID has so far provided direct medical assistance to over 300 newly arrived refugees!

Emergency response:
The emergency medical team includes one doctor and two nurses, and is on-call 24/7. When a boat is spotted by local police or other bodies, the team is immediately alerted. They meet the new arrivals on the shore, do an immediate triage to assess urgent needs, and then, depending on urgency, take the patients needing care to either our local clinic or our medical tent in the transit camp. 

The refugees' conditions are varied but typically include shock and hypothermia. In addition, there are multiple heavily pregnant woman arriving, as well as refugees with chronic diseases such as cardiac conditions and diabetes. Most refugees are fleeing dangerous conditions and often are not able to transport with them urgent or even their regular medications.

This month, a five-year-old boy who needs regular dialysis arrived on a boat. Our doctor quickly identified the issue, and he was referred and transported immediately to the main hospital in Athens. In cases where the boats arrive undetected by police, there are often injuries from the rocks associated with trying to land the boat as well as distress and panic.

Ongoing medical response:
In addition, the medical team staffs the local clinic in the port area six days a week, Monday to Saturday. The clinic is attended by local host community members during the day time, and mostly refugees and NGO workers at night. The IsraAID team also provides regular First Aid training to all the volunteers on Lesbos.

IsraAID remains at the forefront of the response to the Global Refugee crisis, responding to the needs of East African and Middle Eastern refugees as they develop.

To date IsraAID has provided emergency aid, medical services, trauma care and training in affected countries including; South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Jordan, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, France and Germany.  Our teams have reached over 100,000 refugees, and trained national governments and local aid organi­zations as they struggle to cope with the mental and physical scars of the arrivals.

More updates to follow - thank you for you support!