Syria (MNN) — More than half of all Syrian refugees are under the age
of 18, and the struggles for these refugee children are significant.
Gone are the days of school and play. And what they have witnessed makes
them vulnerable to health risks and exploitation.
Nearly 80% of all Syrian refugee children have experienced a death in their immediate families.
(Food for the Hungry)
More than half of the children have been witness to physical assault
or death, and one-third of those Syrian refugee children have been
assaulted themselves. They are in desperate need of food, water,
shelter, and safety.
Food for the Hungry,
in cooperation with partner organizations and the local church in the
Middle East, has not only worked to provide for the physical needs of
Syrian refugee children but is also addressing the emotional and
spiritual needs by creating child-friendly spaces.
Peter Howard, Senior Director of Emergency Response, says the spaces
do more than offer a place to play. “When you take children out of
school for years–and we’re moving into the fifth year now of this
crisis, it has a massive impact not only on their intellectual
development but their emotional and spiritual development.” The safe
spaces offer educational programs and recreation time. And they provide
even more.
(Food for the Hungry)
Howard shares, “We’re supporting these child-friendly spaces where
children can learn and be children in the midst of crisis, and in some
cases, even work through the trauma that they’ve had to deal with at far
too young of an age.”
Visit fh.org/syria
to learn more about all that’s being done for Syrian refugees through
Food for the Hungry, and join in the effort to support the local
Christian response in the Middle East. Howard says the partnership
demonstrates the power of the Gospel, “cause it really is an opportunity
to express to the world and to those suffering who Jesus and who we are
people who serve in the name of Jesus, the church–and how and what
Christians look like.”
Source: Mission Network
News
Topic: What about the kids? Creating safe places for refugee children
