There has been a plethora of psychosocial interventions in the tsunami region – some have spoken of a psychosocial industry! Either with programmes which are specifically psychosocial or with psychosocial aspects to more traditional aid programmes. In general, they include…

Geographically, Malta is positioned in a central position in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located 93km (58 miles) from the south of Sicily and 288km (179 miles) from North Africa. It thereby has proximity to both mainland Europe (Malta is…

After decades of assessing and describing the street children population, more attention is needed to evaluate the impact of street children programs on successful reinsertion into the community. The purpose of the current study was to assess the impact of…

The phenomenon of street children has become a focal point of the media and in academic research in recent years. It is a continuing issue and has been accepted by the international community as a serious global problem. A large…

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies a major protracted refugee situation as one where more than 25,000 refugees have been in exile for more than five years. Protracted refugee situations refer to those that…

This paper examines the interplay between the destructive and healing forces within human communities, as reflected in the life of children. This work stems from over 30 years of being involved as a participant/near-miss survivor/therapist, in a society exposed to…

Worldwide, there is an increasing trend toward urbanization, a phenomenon that is highly conspicuous in developing countries and in war- and disaster-affected areas.2 The majority of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, which have become home to most…

The term resilience has been widely used in recent years. Fundamentally, it refers to a person’s ability to adapt successfully to acute stress, trauma or chronic forms of adversity (e.g. Masten, 2014). However, there are various understandings of resilience. While,…

A Syrian Teacher, November 2015 On November 3, 2015 I received a message from one of my contacts, a human smuggler. A group of 25 Syrians was stuck on a beach in Dikili, north of Izmir. They had failed to…

Increasing research on exposure to political violence, terrorism and war has led to significant advances in comprehension of the nature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological responses of youth to these environments (Betancourt and Khan, 2008). However, more systematic…

People destabilized by armed conflict, including refugees, internally displaced persons, in particular, women and children are at increased risk of exposure to HIV infection (United Nation General Assembly 2001). The above quotation suggests that internally displaced persons in general and…

Health is wealth, so says the adage and this is an undisputed fact for the reason that the well being of a people can holistically add to their development generally. Local communities with little infrastructure seem to be more susceptible…

Over 70,000 Burmese refugees have resettled in the United States in the past decade. While Burmese adolescents quickly acculturate into American society, their perspectives on health are not well-known. The purpose of this study was to identify adolescent Burmese refugee…

This article examines education policy for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, drawing on 44 stakeholder interviews conducted in March 2016. Findings indicate that the idea of children’s rights, enshrined in international conventions, combined with foreign aid, encouraged the creation of a…

At the core of social protection is a concern for addressing vulnerability and risk. It is increasingly understood that social protection policy frameworks and programmes must be informed by a recognition of the diversity of vulnerability and risks, and the…

Contemporary discussions on strengthening national child protection systems agree that community-based child protection mechanisms (CBCPMs) are fundamental elements of child protection systems.1 Because they are relatively easy to access, or perhaps are the only alternative that is available in responding…

Worldwide, the field of child protection in humanitarian settings is undergoing an historic shift toward strengthening child protection systems on a national scale (African Child Policy Forum et al., 2013; Davis, McCaffrey, & Conticini, 2012; UNICEF, UNHCR, & World Vision,…

This report was commissioned by Sacred Heart College, and funded by the Breadsticks Foundation to better understand the conditions affecting access to education for migrant children in Johannesburg. The Three2Six Education Project for Refugee Children at Sacred Heart College has…

Rights without borders Locations: Grenada, Lebanon, Mexico, USA, Brazil, Uruguay, Rwanda, South Africa, Italy, Thailand, Australia Program overview: Primary care (but not exclusive) to children, young people and their families. Promoting education through extra schooling support, non-formal education and ongoing formation…

Released June 26, 2018  

Accounts of humanitarianism regularly address the historical influence of religious traditions and commitments in shaping our understanding of this field. Whether focused on ancient writings regarding obligations to others, the religious views and backgrounds of key humanitarian figures of the…

Many of our readers already know that Lebanon, a country of fewer than 6 million people, has reached a breaking point in its capacity to host the almost 1.2 million Syrian refugees that have streamed into Lebanon as a result…

Unskilled migrant workers and their families represent a crucial human resource in Sabah (Malaysia) as cheap labour, but also as religious believers. Christian organizations belonging to various denominations have started to cater to this community in recent years by providing…

Little is known about the early educational performance of children in migrant farmworker families. The authors examined the school readiness and early school success of 289 four-year-old preschool children of migrant families attending Redlands Christian Migrant Association centers. Children's school…

Guidance on mental health and psychosocial programming This guidance has been developed in phases. A desk review looking at the literature relevant to faith-sensitive psychosocial programming, followed by fieldwork in LWF and IRW country offices (Kenya, Jordan and Nepal), led…

Education for Refugees and the forcibly displaced Jesuit Relief Service USA

Over the past several decades, an increasing number of refugee children and families have involuntarily migrated to countries around the world to seek safety and refuge. As the refugee population increases, it is becoming more important to understand factors that…

The education sector in Dadaab includes pre-school, primary, secondary, adult literacy, special education, vocational training and scholarships for tertiary education. The schools follow the Kenyan curriculum. In the three camps, there are 22 primary schools, six secondary schools, four YEP…

War, conflict, political uprisings and other hardships displace countless families each year. More than half of the world’s estimated 19 million refugees are children (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], 2007). Some children grow up in refugee camps and…

The Syrian crisis has brought to the forefront the enormous challenges that families face in the context of war and displacement. To date, over 7 million people are internally displaced; at least half of those internally and externally displaced are…

In 2005 Dybicz concluded his review with: “This is how far best practice research has reached: interventions based upon theory” (p. 768). The interventions which Dybicz wrote about were aimed at serving children and adolescents living and working in the…

Street children are a marginalized group with limited access to education, health care and other services (Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, 2004). They are also frequently subjected to different forms of abuse, neglect, deprivation, hazards of living on…

In diverse contexts, community-based child protection mechanisms (CBCPMs) are front line efforts to protect children from exploitation, abuse, violence, and neglect and to promote children’s well-being.2 Defined broadly, CBCPMs include all groups or networks at grassroots level that respond to…

Adaption and innovation: meeting humanitarian needs in fragile and conflict contexts There is no simple roadmap for operating in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. The nature of these contexts requires constant learning, adaption and revision. And although contexts vary considerably, World…

End of Project Management Report September 2016 to February 2018 Children as Peace Builders in Damara Sous prefecture Locations: Gbago, Dombe, Bossele, Damara, Binima, Oumba, Tangue, Vangue, Gbozo, Guerengou Project Goal: To increase access to livelihood assistance to conflict-affected children, especially…

World Vision's series of Church Engagement Fact Sheets to provide a learning resource that helps World Vision staff understand how we partner with churches to accelerate change in communities to transform children’s lives. The  document includes a total of 66…

Case study of ESADER (Ensemble pour la Santé et le Développement holistique en milieu Rural et périurbain) programs in the Eastern Region of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Scholastic support to war related orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Beni region…

Program overview of Equipping Churches to Serve Refugees Locations: Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Syria FY 2017  

The role of faith communities (Meeting Report in Spanish) Conveners: WVI, Arigatou, Lutheran World Federation,  The Human Rights office of the Archbishop of Guatemala and Bartolomé de las Casas Center - Central America. Also see here for the roundtable report summary (Sistematización-Mesa-Redonda_San-Salvador-22-Marzo-2018) Proteger…

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Italy, known as Centro Astalli, has offices in Rome, Trento, Vicenza, Palermo and Catania, offering a range of services including legal aid, healthcare, language classes, material and psychosocial support, and help to find employment.…

Deepening the Mission of Reconciliation in the Work of JRS In June 2013, as part of an ongoing collaboration between JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) and the Centre for Human Rights and International Justice at Boston College, JRS workers from across…

A review of two pilot projects for children and young people Since 2014, World Vision has operated a humanitarian response programme supporting internally displaced Iraqi families in the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI). Within this, WV KRI has been implementing…

2.5 million girls in eastern Africa in urgent need of protection More than 2.5 million girls have been forced to flee their homes across eastern Africa and are in urgent need of protection, a new report from World Vision has…

Report of the Roundtable discussion held on the 26 September 2016 in Geneva and convened by Arigatou International. The roundtable aimed at: • Discussing major challenges that civil society organizations, religious communities, academia, international organizations face in seeking to prevent…

Relevant Research and Policy Initiatives UNHCR Dialogue on Faith and Protection ICRC Resource Center World Bank's Development Dialogue on Values and Ethics Religions And Development Research Programme at Birmingham University Berkley Center For Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Religion and…

From UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) The Urgent Need to Share Responsibility for Global Refugees Crises There are more people fleeing from war or persecution than ever before. Yet the political will to tackle the problem is scarce and anti-foreigner rhetoric…

Synthesis report of the UK-Government funded project: ‘Working effectively with faith leaders to challenge harmful traditional practices’

This JLI GBV Hub study funded by UK-Aid on engaging with faith leaders on harmful traditional practices follows a multi-case case study design, with each individual case study focusing on one of five organisations, four of whom are international faith-based organisations (FBOs), and their work on HTPs and with faith leaders. This document details the findings from the case study done with ABAAD through five interviews.

The aim of this report is to highlight evidence regarding the roles and impact that Local Faith Communities (LFCs) play in relation to urban refugees, with the aim of informing interconnected conversations around localisation and urbanisation. The international community is…

Suggestions, Background Materials, and Templates for Consultations Introduction The views and ideas of children and adolescents are of utmost importance for the success of the  “Churches’ Commitments to Children” currently being implemented. The World Council of  Churches (WCC), UNICEF, and…