Syrian Refugee Crisis: CARE at the front lines

Intense fighting in Syria has forcibly displaced more people today than any other country. Every day, thousands of Syrians flee violence to seek out food, protection, medical care and other urgently needed aid. There are 13.5 million people inside Syria displaced or in desperate need of humanitarian aid. At least half of the displaced are children. The majority of the nearly 5 million refugees are struggling to meet the most basic needs, having left everything behind. CARE is reaching people impacted by the conflict with humanitarian assistance in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen and inside Syria, providing life-saving emergency assistance as well as solutions to help people cope with the longer term crisis.

Conflict-driven refugee crises present special challenges for women and girls, who often face gender-based violence, inadequate health care and the burden of supporting families in new ways. Women who have lost husbands to war often have to take on greater responsibility, earning incomes on top of workloads at home. Girls, meanwhile, face increased pressure to marry early or drop out of school to work or help with home chores. All this while coping with the trauma of being violently uprooted from home.

But CARE knows women and girls also are the key to preventing a “lost generation” in protracted refugee crises like that in Syria. That’s why CARE’s programming helps women earn a living and girls not only go to school but also hold on to their hopes and dreams for the future. CARE supports youth in activities such as filmmaking and martial arts. We help families pay rent in exchange for sending their girls and boys to school. And CARE supports women through vocational trainings in gastronomy, beautification, and even some of the non-traditional fields such as electronic repairs. CARE also provides women entrepreneurs with equipment to launch their businesses.

More than seven years since the beginning of the crisis, the situation in Syria is still grim and the suffering of the people is far from the end. As CARE, we are committed to help affected communities, inside Syria and around the region, while still advocating for an end to the crisis. Thank you for your generosity which equips us to save lives, achieve social justice, and solve global poverty.