There are more than 110 million refugees and displaced people worldwide – the highest number on record since the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention. That’s 110 million individuals, more than a third of which are children, with unique and usually traumatic stories. But that number – roughly the population of Egypt – becomes so easily dehumanizing, too large to imagine. GlobalWA members are doing incredible work to humanize and protect refugees along their journey, assisting them with basic necessities and psychosocial support from the start and eventually helping them create new lives for themselves around the world. These are some of their stories.

Safe Passage with Children

The beginning of a refugee’s journey can be the hardest. Seven-months pregnant with an 18-month-old son, Ana resisted the thought of leaving her home in Ukraine until one day two rockets exploded over her town, and she felt like she had no choice. She left her husband to defend the city and fled to Moldova, where she found herself in a church. The pastor did not refer to her as a refugee, but instead a guest. With support from World Vision, which helps 3.5 million people like Ana every year, she has hope for her future.

While Ana might not have encountered one of UNICEF’s Blue Dot Centers, they assist displaced children and families at dozens of transit routes out Ukraine in a joint effort with Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), local authorities, and other partners. Up to 1,000 people use these centers every day in neighboring countries like Moldova, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Belarus to access drinking water and hygiene supplies, health care, psychosocial support, legal information, and more. At each Blue Dot center, there’s a play area where kids can be kids.

Similarly, ChildFund established three child-friendly spaces at Palorinya Refugee Settlement in Uganda, which hosts the largest refugee population in Africa with refugees heavily from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Here children receive basic education and participate in trauma-informed activities designed to facilitate healing. Children can play while their families are working to rebuild their lives. Other ChildFund programs around the world help address the root cause of violence and poverty to prevent refugee scenarios, such as their Protected Passage, which aims to protect children along migratory routes.

Read the full article about embracing refugees by Cady Susswein at Global Washington.