Middle East

Syria - Jordan

Regional psychosocial protection project for Iraqi refugee children

Terre des hommes (Tdh) is providing psychological help for Iraqi refugee children who are in a very precarious situation in Syria and Jordan. In 2011, more than 3,500 people benefited from the activities implemented.

Regional assistance to Iraqi refugees

The Iraqi groups who have taken up temporary refuge in Syria and Jordan are in great distress. They have very few rights and no access to adequate services, in particular in the field of psychology. However, this is where their needs are greatest because of the trauma experienced during the war, while fleeing and also during their stay in the country which has taken them in. Tdh is providing psychological and social help to these children and their families in Jordan, where it has opened a centre. Two partner relief organizations are working in Syria.

Recognised expertise in the area of psychosocial care

Tdh is regarded as a reference point for this subject. The Foundation has succeeded in remaining neutral and fulfilling its mandate with all partners regardless of religious, ethnic or political considerations. The Foundation supports teams of psychologists, social workers and animators working in three Iraqi refugee centres. To meet an urgent need, the psychological assistance will soon be flanked by a child protection policy in Syria and a juvenile justice project in Jordan.

Centered at 36.2868208 33.5162635 6

Places of intervention : Damascus, Amman

Projects : Humanitarian crises and armed conflicts

In joint cooperation with : Tdh Syria and the Sœurs du Bon Cœur in Syria

Delegate : Vincent Cauche

Expatriate staff : 1

National staff : 8

Budget : 904'745 CHF

Latest News

20 Jun 2011 • Humanitarian crises Syria - Jordan
The dispossessed of the Iraqi crisis

Since 2007, the European Commission has provided almost €96 million in humanitarian aid to help victims of the Iraqi crisis. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department, better known as ECHO, finances Tdh's projects for Iraqi refugees in the neighbouring countries Syri... Read more
20 Jun 2011 • Humanitarian crises Syria - Jordan
Refugees in Syria – Jordan: "To give our children a better life"

With flight and exile, Iraqi families left behind more than their homes, their country and their family circle. They also lost their bearings, their confidence crumbled and despair took root. The support of Terre des hommes is operative in helping them to overcome these ordeal... Read more

Side Notes

Children’s situation

30% of Iraqi children do not attend school, essentially for financial reasons
Syria has over one million Iraqi refugees, Jordan between 500,000 and 700,000.

Results 2011

In Syria, Tdh’s partners continued to work with Iraqi refugees by welcoming them to centres providing psycho-social assistance, material help, recreational activities for children and support groups for parents. Tdh also provided psychological follow-up care for more than one thousand people. The psycho-social and psychological state of Iraqi refugees remains critical as it is aggravated by the current extremely tense situation in Syria, which reminds refugees of their own violent experiences in Iraq.

In Jordan, Tdh worked on a project to strengthen the justice system for minors in the Amman region. A total of 71 employees of the juvenile justice system were trained and 80 children in detention benefited from our psycho-social services. Tdh is cooperating closely with its governmental and civic partners to have the law on justice for minors reviewed and improved in Jordan.

Testimonial

Nach ihrer Rückkehr aus Syrien und Jordanien beschreibt Maria Bray die dortige Situation irakischer Flüchtlinge und schildert das Vorgehen von Terre des hommes.

- Maria, Psychologist with Tdh