In this picture, a Syrian refugee child in Lebanon opens a yellow box and grins when he sees a reflection of himself.
A Syrian refugee child opens a yellow box and grins when he sees a reflection of himself.
Photo: Andrea Falcon/IRC
“I call the children one by one to see what it is inside the box,” explains Amer,* an educator with the International Rescue Committee. “I explain to them that they will find the picture of a very important person inside the box, someone who set up his or her goals and achieved them.”
Amer is one of IRC's educators who provide street and working children in Beirut, including Syrian refugees fleeing from war, with psychosocial support, recreational activities and basic literacy and numeracy classes. Educators facilitate a number of games, such as the mirror box, to help children improve confidence, creativity and thinking skills.
“I tell them that they can do it. They have many skills, but they simply don’t know it. Drawing, singing, dancing are just some examples of skills that they have to be conscious to have," says Amer.
More than one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon continue to face the hardship of displacement, shrinking humanitarian assistance, and lack of access to education services as the crisis becomes chronic. More and more families have been forced to send their children off to help make ends meet. The IRC, in cooperation with the United Nations refugee agency and local authorities, is working to improve protection services for street and working children.
Syria crisis
With the brutal conflict in Syria now in its fifth year, the IRC is continuing to assist Syrian refugees and Syrians trapped inside their country by violence. We provide medical and other critical aid, ensure refugees have access to their legal rights and to education, and help women and girls who are victims of violence.
Read more about our work in Syria and across the region.