Syrian Refugee Crisis Deepens
A worker pounds a peg into the ground as he and other workers erect new tents in the Zaatari Refugee Camp, located near Mafraq, Jordan. Opened in July, 2012, the camp is now the second largest refugee camp in the world. Members of the ACT Alliance are active in the camp providing essential items and services. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACTJuly 30, 2013
By Simon Chambers
In June 2013, the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) launched the largest humanitarian appeal in history””US$5 billion””for the crisis in Syria where by the end of this year it is projected that over 10 million people will be displaced either within their country as internally displaced people (IDPs) or outside Syria as refugees. PWRDF has responded to two appeals for Syria through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and the ACT Alliance. But the refugee crisis in the region continues to expand.
Already, the Zaatari camp in Jordan has become the second largest refugee camp in the world (behind the Dadaab camp in Kenya, where PWRDF has partnered for years with the Kenyan Council of Churches) and is now the fifth largest settlement of any kind in Jordan. Over 60% of the population of the Zaatari camp are children, and many of the households are headed by women. Most of those living in the camp come from rural areas in Syria and have received elementary or basic education.
Gender-based violence is a real and significant risk facing women and girls in refugee camps. This can include domestic violence, early (forced) marriage, or transactional and survival sex. This violence is brought about because of the difficult conditions in the camps, the separation of families, the presence of organized crime (including prostitution rings) in the camps, and limited access to other forms of livelihood.
PWRDF continues, through CFGB and ACT, to provide food, hygiene kits, bedding, support to health workers, provision of psychosocial counselors, support for students to continue their education and cash for work initiatives to relieve financial strains on hundreds of families.
You can support this sorely needed relief work:
On-line
You can designate your online donation for “Syria Response”.
By Phone
For credit card donations contact:
Jennifer Brown
416-924-9192 ext. 355; 1-866-308-7973
Please do not send your credit card number by email or fax.
By Mail
Please make cheques payable to “PWRDF”, mark them for “Syria Response” and send them to:
The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund
The Anglican Church of Canada
80 Hayden Street
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 3G2
PWRDF Donations Contact:
Jennifer Brown
416-924-9192 ext. 355; 1-866-308-7973
PWRDF Partnership Program Manager
Elsa Tesfay
416-924-9199 ext. 206; 1-866-308-7973
For media requests, please email Communications and Marketing Coordinator Janice Biehn at jbiehn@pwrdf.org.
