Support Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan

Project Report | Apr 16, 2018
New Computers Bring Excitement to Azraq's Makani Center

By Davis Nordeen | Resource Development Assistant

A girl explores the new computers at Azraq Camp

Living at Azraq Refugee Camp, Syrian children need no reminder that they are not at home. Sandbags line wide and empty roads, barbed wire fences run along the camp border, and a sea of 10,000 white corrugated shelter roofs block out the horizon in every direction. With barren deserts stretching out for miles on all sides, one can almost feel entrapped, and for the refugee children who have already been torn from their homes, schools and friends, conditions at Azraq camp can be a constant reminder of everything they have lost.

To help Syrian refugee children envision a brighter future, International Medical Corps provides psychosocial support and life skills training to children at Azraq camp at safe spaces called Makani or “My Space” Centers. To help children cope with the hardships they face outside the Makani Center walls, we recently provided 24 computers to the Azraq Camp Makani Center to help improve the educational and recreational opportunities available to vulnerable children.

Thanks to the new computers and a trained facilitator, 466 children have learned fundamental computer skills such as email and Microsoft Office, engaged in social media and online language learning, cooking, and science applications, and explored the internet, many for the first time.

In addition to the new computers, International Medical Corps provides other psychosocial support and skills-based education for the children at Azraq Camp, including running groups and classes for theater, sports, handicrafts, art, and language learning as well as a storytelling program, which teaches children life skills and morals through film. Through this support, we have helped to reach an additional 359 children at Azraq Camp from October to December 2017.

The Syrian conflict entered its eighth year in March, and the need for programs that offer psychosocial support cannot be understated. Many refugee children have now spent years surrounded by violence and insecurity with little education or emotional or social support. As a result, many Syrian refugee children are not able to cope with their experiences, and some develop depression, anger, and anxiety or behavioral and social problems. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 44% of Syrian children show signs of depression and 45% are thought to be suffering from PTSD—10 times the prevalence of children elsewhere in the world.

Like all of International Medical Corps’ psychosocial services at Azraq’s Makani Center, one of the goals of installing the computers was to establish a routine. Many children at Azraq camp have become normalized to instability and idleness, and exploring the computers in structured groups allows them to learn together, create friendships, and develop a sense of belonging. Most simply, it allows them to experience what it means to be a kid again.

We thank the GlobalGiving community for your continued support of International Medical Corps as we reach vulnerable Syrian refugees living at Jordan’s Azraq Camp with psychosocial support.

The computer room at Azraq Makani Center

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Jan 16, 2018
Mental Health at Azraq Refugee Camp: A Struggle Against Stigma

By Davis Nordeen | Resource Development Assistant

Participants of the World Mental Health Day event

For many Syrian refugees, depression and anxiety have become a staple of everyday life. An estimated 54% of Syrian refugees are living with severe emotional disorders as the Syrian crisis approaches its eighth year without an end to the violence or displacement.

A key factor contributing to this prevalence are the barriers surrounding treatment. Limited access to mental health services, cultural stigma surrounding mental illness, and the fear associated with clinical labels of psychological distress persistently bar refugees from seeking out and receiving the care they need.

“I have spent 5 years suffering from hearing voices. I wasn’t trusting others, I had social problems, and was sad all the time,” Amal said, a Syrian woman who received psychiatric support at International Medical Corps’ mental health clinic at Azraq camp in Jordan.

“During the past years I went to many scholars and mystics but none of them helped me. When I came to the camp, I heard about mental health services through an awareness session, then I sought their help.”

Reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness, and ensuring that refugees know what mental health services are available to them, are priorities of International Medical Corps’ mission at Azraq Camp. In addition to providing direct support through case management services, psychological sessions, and psychiatrist consultations at two mental health clinics, we integrate mental health care into primary health services and spread awareness of mental health issues to ease the fear, embarrassment and shame that can be associated with pursuing treatment.

At Azraq Camp in October, International Medical Corps hosted an awareness-raising event in celebration and observance of World Mental Health Day with the theme of promoting positive mental health in the workplace. Over 60 camp residents attended the event in addition to other NGO staff, and representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Syrian Refugee Affairs Directorate (SRAD) and UNHCR.

The event consisted of four awareness sessions about stress management techniques, a role-playing performance by community health volunteers about mental health at work, a performance by the Azraq Camp band, and a video of success stories from those who received care through International Medical Corps mental health services, one of whom was Amal.

“They provided me with psychological support, psychotropic medication, and intensively followed up with me. I felt the improvement in my mental health, I have improved my social skills, and I no longer hear voices,” Amal shared in the video.

Our goal, as with all of our awareness-raising activities, was to show refugees at Azraq camp that they are not alone—that their mental health is important and that we support them. In the past three months, International Medical Corps provided mental health care services to 110 new patients at Azraq Camp, and we will continue to raise awareness in camp communities to encourage refugees to reach out for the mental support they need and deserve.

We thank all of you in the GlobalGiving community for your support of Syrian refugees living in Azraq Camp in Jordan. Your generosity is helping International Medical Corps provide critically needed mental health and psychosocial services to vulnerable Syrian refugees.

A volunteer gives out flowers at the WMHD event

A mental health awareness session at Azraq Camp

Links:

World Mental Health Day Video (only available in Arabic)

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Oct 18, 2017
Nadia's Story

By the Institutional Advancement Department | International Medical Corps

Nadia, mother of Azraq Camp's 1000th baby

Nadia is one of countless Syrian refugees who have fled their countries to seek safety in bordering Jordan. Adapting to these new surroundings was not easy for Nadia and her family.

“Adapting to life in the community can be very challenging for Syrian refugees,” she explains. Like many others, the family of six soon relocated to Azraq refugee camp.

“It was either this or go back to Syria. In the camp, all the basic services we need to survive are available.”

Jordan has a long history of welcoming refugees from conflicts across the Middle East, from Palestine, Iraq and now Syria. Today, there is incredible strain on Jordan from more than 650,000 Syrian refugees living there, and health care and other services have been stretched to the breaking point.

There are currently more than 50,000 registered refugees in Azraq camp alone. International Medical Corps works in the camp to provide essential health services in Azraq Camp Hospital and at three health clinics. In addition to emergency health services, International Medical Corps also provides neonatal and antenatal care for refugees living in the camp. On average, around 100 babies are delivered in the camp every month.

It was at Azraq Camp Hospital where Nadia found out she was pregnant with her 6th child.

“Thanks to the support we receive here, my wife’s pregnancy was very smooth,” Nadia’s husband says gratefully. “The community health volunteers visited us throughout and referred us to the clinic for antenatal care.”

Ghazal was born on November 1st, 2016 – and the baby girl was officially recorded as the 1,000th baby born in the camp hospital supported by International Medical Corps.

“We were anxious at first because of the camp setting,” Nadia recalls. “But the team was very supportive and made us feel comfortable.”

Nadia stayed in the hospital for 24 hours after delivery, and the family received a baby kit with essentials for their newborn daughter. The proud parents then brought their newborn daughter home to join the rest of the family in the camp.

“I hope that when the war is over we can return to Syria,” Nadia’s husband says.

We thank the GlobalGiving community for their continued support of Syrian refugees at the Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan.

Ghazal explores her surroundings

A delivery room at Azraq Camp Hospital

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