Providing Lifesaving Support for Syrian Refugees

Photo by Sam Tarling for Caritas

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Syria is at the center of the world's most devastating humanitarian emergency. Once a vibrant hub of Middle Eastern culture and history, Syria has been besieged by internal conflict that has uprooted millions of innocent families. Of those, 4.1 million Syrians have fled across the border into Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt. More than 75% of Syrian refugees are women and children.

Seven-year-old Raghed, a Syrian refugee, stands on a trash pile at an informal refugee settlement in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Photo by Sam Tarling for CRS
Seven-year-old Raghed, a Syrian refugee, stands on a trash pile at an informal refugee settlement in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Photo by Sam Tarling for CRS

CRS response

Since 2011, Catholic Relief Services has provided more than 1.25 million war-affected Syrian refugees across the Middle East and Europe with urgent medical assistance, food, shelter, living supplies, hygiene, counseling and education for children.

Our response is comprehensive and addresses people's needs to survive and live in dignity.

Medical support includes immediate interventions for life-threatening wounds as well as care for chronic needs, like diabetes and maternal/child care. Vouchers allow parents to buy food and other supplies in the local markets. And trauma counseling and education for children help them return to a semblance of normalcy.

We need your help

Our partners are working around the clock to expand their services to meet the growing number of refugees arriving in desperate conditions. Your support is vital.

With your help, we can provide:

  • Food
  • Emergency household supplies
  • Urgent medical assistance
  • Shelter support
  • Hygiene and sanitation services
  • Children's education, support and trauma counseling

We have a special role to play in this crisis, which is taking place in the cradle of Christianity—a place where the Catholic Church and welfare agencies have a long history of helping people in need, regardless of religious affiliation. Today, for the thousands of Syrian families who are living in peril, your help is needed more than ever.

Background on this crisis

Once a vibrant hub of Middle Eastern culture and history, Syria has been embroiled in a civil war for the past six years, which has killed as many as 400,000 Syrians, and left 11 million people displaced and destitute, inside and outside Syria. Millions have had to flee their homes for refuge in relatively calm regions or neighboring countries.

The crisis in Syria represents one of the greatest humanitarian emergencies today, and the needs are urgent for millions of innocent people.

Millions of families face not only incredible dangers but also dire hardship for getting from one day to the next. By the time Syrians make it to a neighboring country, they have typically fled horrible violence, have lost loved ones and arrive in a foreign place with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. They need the most basic essentials to get by: food, a roof over their heads, a safe place to sleep. Many also need urgent medical assistance and care and education for their children.

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