Giving Compass' Take:

• Al Jazeera reports on how the crisis in Syria has affected refugee children, who now lack basic needs, including the opportunity to get an education.

• Humanitarian relief efforts are important, but this article raises the urgency of actors on all sides of the Syrian conflict to address what's happening to a whole generation of youth.

• Here are some ways you can help Syrian refugees.

According to the UN agencies, some 43 percent of Syrian refugee children in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq are out of school.

Poverty and dwindling financial means are making it almost impossible for families to get by in these countries. In a recent study conducted by UNICEF Jordan, more than 85 percent of refugees outside the camps — in host communities — live in poverty, struggling to meet their basic needs, including providing education for their children.

But it is difficult to envisage an improvement in the life and prospects of Syrian refugee children. As the war becomes further protracted, the prospect of returning to a normal life for the 2.6 million Syrians in neighboring countries and the 2.8 million internally displaced remains unrealistic. An entire generation of Syrians has apparently lost the opportunity to receive an education because of the war.

"There has been a total disregard for the protection of children by all sides in this conflict," said Christophe Boulierac, UNICEF spokesperson, on Tuesday. "We keep calling upon all the parties in the conflict to do what they must to protect children as per the international law."

Read the full article about Syria's refugee children and lost opportunities by Barbara Bibbo at aljazeera.com