CEO Blog: When Hunger Necessitates Innovation
Nyakuma herself was bright and cheery, and her laughter made all of us smile. Lately I find myself thinking of Nyakuma and Mary. I wonder where they are now, and if Nyakuma is as happy as she was when I met her. More than anything, I wonder if they have enough food to...
Rohingya Crisis: Facing COVID-19 in a refugee camp
The Rohingya, who fled horrific violence in Myanmar back in 2017, now live in the largest refugee camp in the world. As he arrives back in his home of New Zealand, Carl reflects on COVID-19 and the impact on families in Kutupalong. Over the past five months, change...
The Chaos Does Not Last: Reflecting on Six Years in Iraq
As country director for Medair in Iraq, there were times when it felt like all I did was deal with chaos. There were moments of intensified violence, a humanitarian emergency as Syrian families crossed into Iraq from northeast Syria in search of safety, and the...
Going the extra mile to save lives
Life of a Congolese aid worker: “Work satisfaction is going the extra mile to save lives. It is not just how much you take home for your family.” Aid worker, Moise, weathered nine days of travelling, including a dangerous walk into the wild forest to reach out to...
What COVID-19 means for Rohingya children
When Rohingya refugees first arrived in Bangladesh in 2017, 1 in 4 children was malnourished. By early 2020, thanks to continued treatment, that number had dropped to 1 in 9. Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, this progress is at risk of being...
Lonely but safe: Waiting for baby in Congo
For expectant Congolese mothers, living in a maternal home in the last few days of their pregnancy could be a matter of life and death, both for her and the child. Jeanne left behind her two-year-old child with his husband at home to temporarily live in a maternal...
Voices of Beirut
In the days and weeks since the blast Medair provided psychological first aid and is conducting group and individual sessions to help people work through their experiences and begin to recover. “Is there anything harder than losing purpose?” – Salma. “I lost my mind....
Staying connected during a COVID-19 lockdown
I enjoy the human interaction, the way people talk to me and trust me with their problems, the way they open up and speak out their sorrows, misfortunes, joys and dreams. I have been working with Medair for a year and a half now, and I don’t see myself changing my...
Syrians are not Home Yet
Mazen is a Syrian refugee now living in east Amman, Jordan. He lives with his wife and son, crowded in one room on the roof of a shabby building, struggling to make ends meet. Mazen was badly injured in Homs, he suffered from burns all over his face and hands, and...
We Live in Hope
Ever since 57-year-old Amina* and her husband Asif, 63, fled violence in Myanmar, they have only had one wish: “I want to go back. I was born there, it’s where I have lived my whole life.” says Asif. “I am here, but my soul is still beyond those hills,” adds Amina,...