The Creativity Fund Committee

October 1, 2018.

At the startup of the Za'atari Refugee Camp in 2012 our answer to a single question made all the difference in our experience there for the next 6 years: Are refugees a problem or a solution? We chose the latter – refugees are people, like us, with solutions. They just don't live at their usual home anymore.

We (Jordanian staff and Syrian volunteers) dreamed up very ambitious plans for youth-led activities in a Youth Center (that we would have to build!) in Za'atari Refugee Camp – a place where everyone already knew resources were scarce. Impossible! Really?...MORE

Redefining Food Aid in the 21st Century

August 31, 2018.

Questscope was recently commended for being one of the top global organizations “redefining food aid in the 21st century” by Food Tank, a think-tank working for food system change.

An incredible recognition! Because our main focus is not food in emergencies – our main focus is always on people. But when people in emergencies need food, we move all kinds of things to get food to them.

Our strength is in relationships, in the trust we build. So when formal infrastructures crumble, like in...MORE

Second Chance For Hassan

July 30, 2018.

Hassan lives in a rural farming community in Jordan. His dad died when he was young, so Hassan and his brothers dropped out of school to work on a local farm.

This was the only choice that stood between his family and starvation.

"I dropped out of school in the ninth grade because I cared more about providing for my family than going to school," said Hassan.

Hassan comes from a family of farmers....MORE

Beyond Her A, B, C's

April 30, 2018.

Every school day, Ala'a wakes up her younger sister Hurayah. Together they get ready and walk to our center in rural Jordan. Here these two teen girls have learned to read and write. They've discovered a passion for art and accessory making. They've gotten a second chance at an education – and a life beyond the four walls of their home.

When Ala’a was in first grade, she came home crying because she was being teased and bullied by other kids. She couldn't take the constant rejection and refused to go to school again.

She not only no longer went to school,...MORE

An Update from Damascus

April 12, 2018.

When thousands of children and families finally left the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta after enduring years of conflict – we were there.

We met people malnourished from years of deprivation, children who lost their moms and dads, and thousands more with deep emotional and physical wounds.

Providing refuge to these disoriented and fearful families was our first priority. Our first response was to organize a large transition shelter to host more than 12,000 people.

...MORE

Resolute Women are the Future

February 26, 2018.

What is the role of women in conflict?

Hundreds of thousands of young men in Syria have died or have been forced to flee to avoid being drafted into a war they do not want to fight. Young women have stepped into the void and now make up over half of our team in Syria.

They're distributing clean water, rebuilding shelters, educating children, and growing into a force for peace. Young women are redefining what it means to be female on the front lines of war.

...MORE

A Plumber's Toolkit

January 29, 2018.

Abu Munir lost a son in a bombing, and then lost his livelihood when he fled his home. He was forced to move into a single room with his wife and four surviving children. When they needed a bathroom or a kitchen, they relied on the kindness of their neighbors.

When our staff first met Abu Munir, he was still reeling from the death of his son. He cried more than he spoke, but eventually he opened up. He told us he had been a plumber before he was displaced.

...MORE

A Year in Review

December 29, 2017.

For 30 years, we’ve walked alongside two sets of friends: those whose lives were suddenly devastated by war or slowly stifled by poverty, and those like you who help them get the crucial relationships and attention they need to survive and thrive.

Connecting them to the tools and resources they need to begin anew. And recognizing within each person her inspiration, his hope, for a life worth living.

Our heroes are our Syrian staff and volunteers who risk their lives for others every single day reaching out to their neighbors and communities – places most devastated by the...MORE

Elias

December 27, 2017.

The only things 11 year-old Elias took with him when he ran were the clothes he was wearing and four pencils.

With bullets flying past their front door and slamming into their house, Elias and his family were forced out of their neighborhood by street fighting. They fled their home in a Damascus suburb for a refugee camp just across the Syrian border.

It's been three years now in that camp. Elias misses his house, his games he left behind, and his grandma and grandpa – still in Syria. He asked us to tell everyone in the world, “please don’t fight.”

For tens of...MORE

Ghada

December 19, 2017.

One of the accomplishments you can be most proud of supporting is the 30,000 women who are currently active in therapy groups organized by our Syria team in communities and shelters throughout the country.

Among those efforts is Hear My Heart, a therapy space for women to support one another that is led by trained facilitators. It is also a way for our staff to understand women's needs and worries so we can better serve them and their families.

Hear My Heart helps women and girls like 15-year-old Ghada, who fled Aleppo with her family more than two years...MORE

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