Projects in North East Syria
Norwegian People’s Aid
In collaboration with the organisation Norwegian People's Aid, we train the team members of five local organisations that work with women, children, families and tribal leaders in refugee camps and communities in Northeast Syria. In preparation for this training we visited the refugee camp Al Hol in 2023.
The Al Hol camp is located in northeastern Syria, close to the Iraqi border and is home to almost 55.000 people (ICRC March ‘23), An estimated two thirds of the camp's population are children, most are under the age of five. Part of the camp functions as a regular refugee camp and is inhabited by families, while in another part people live in captivity. That is why the camp has strict security.
When we were there it was also very warm, around 43 degrees. There are no trees and little shade available. Drinking water is also scarce and people live in tents. Part of the camp is now being rebuilt to provide slightly better living conditions.
Shams is one of the organisations we train. They work with children and women in the Al Hol camp and have applied our Sounds of Change method since March. During our visit to the Al Hol camp it was fantastic to see the children and women engage in the musical games and activities that we taught the trainees of Shams. The children and women have fun, they make contact and come up with creative input. It touched us to see how freely everyone moves within this safe space, that gives us hope. The power of music, which is so needed in these circumstances, is actually being used and we could see and feel its impact.
The visit to Al Hol also gave us a good context of the work situation in which Shams and the other four local organisations work. This enabled us to tailor our training program to their questions and needs. Thanks to our collaboration with Anne Don (Trauma International), practical knowledge about trauma seamlessly connected to our Sounds of Change approach and method.
Read more about our work in the Northeast Syria in the newsletters below
Newsletters
