Hear from IRC’s frontline workers this World Humanitarian Day - Global Impact (2024)

• August 19, 2024

• Oleksandr Rupeta for the IRC

• August 19, 2024

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) provides critical aid and support in over 40 countries, with a focus on safety and security for all involved. We honor those who have dedicated their lives to helping those in need and remember those who have been injured or lost their lives in this work. Meet three of the IRC’s frontline humanitarian workers who make a difference every day in the communities they serve.

Meet Dr. Rateb*
Dr. Rateb* is a health officer working for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Al-Hol camp, Syria. He plays a vital role in managing health activities within the camp, overseeing both administrative and technical aspects of the health services provided. The camp serves a diverse population, including Syrian refugees, displaced Syrians, Iraqi refugees, and ANex migrants, accommodating nearly 60,000 people.

Dr. Rateb highlights several challenges in the camp, including gaps in secondary healthcare and specialized medical consultations, limited access to dental care, and difficulties in providing blood transfusions for patients with blood disorders. Additionally, the harsh conditions in the camp have led to a high demand for psychological health services, and IRC has been making efforts to address mental health needs.

Despite the challenges, Dr. Rateb and his team work tirelessly to provide medical care to the camp’s residents, emphasizing the importance of investing in secondary and specialized healthcare to bridge the existing gaps. They also collaborate with other programs, such as child protection and women’s protection, to ensure that beneficiaries receive comprehensive support.

In summary, Dr. Rateb’s role at IRC involves managing healthcare services in Al-Hol camp, where he and his team strive to provide essential medical care to a large and diverse population, despite the challenging conditions and resource limitations in the camp. They work to address gaps in healthcare services, including mental health and specialized care, to improve the overall well-being of the camp’s residents.

Meet Baraa
Baraa, a legal midwife with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), works in a remote and economically challenged area, starting her day early at 8:30 AM to provide crucial healthcare services. Specialized in serving pregnant women and offering family planning guidance, she educates patients on pregnancy, personal hygiene, and childbirth preparations. Despite the challenges posed by the area’s remoteness and economic struggles, Baraa and her team build trust within the community through their quality care, operating a clinic with services ranging from pediatrics to women’s health and providing education sessions. They also offer maternity kits, support high-risk pregnancies, and address family issues, including pregnancy-related depression and domestic violence. Baraa’s personal journey reflects the war’s economic and psychological impact on her family, but she hopes for a peaceful future for her children and her country, emphasizing the essential role healthcare professionals play in providing vital services and support to communities in need.

IRC with the support of ECHO, at Jdeida health care center, is providing primary health care, community health outreach activities, infection prevention and control, provision of medical supplies, distribution of WASH NFI and hygiene kits, capacity-building activities for health staff, and strengthening of referral services. We are also providing BEmONC (Basic emergency obstetrics and neonatal care) services at the center.

Meet Hajera
Hajera is a 19-year-old Community-Based Education (CBE) teacher working with the IRC for the last two years. She is from Logar province, in Afghanistan. Her father has encouraged her to become a teacher and when she realized most parents do not send their children, especially their daughters, to school, she wanted to help the community in raising awareness among about the benefits of education for the whole family: “The children themselves don’t know about the advantages of school and education.”

She draws from her own experience, being able to overcome her financial problems and helping her father by sharing the economic burden of the house. Since being educated she was able to get a job; “I encourage other people to get an education in order to have a good future.” She finds the root of this problem in how the community is too strict with girls. She tells us, “The problem is that the girls can’t complete their education and that is why they don’t progress and develop.”

Since the last two years she has noticed a change. “Before it was not safe and there was war but it is safe now. Therefore, everyone can safely come to school and go back home.” A large part of her time is spent encouraging parents to send their children to school. She talks about one proud moment when she was able to convince a mother to provide her daughter with education; “I said that if someone is going the right way then no one can misdirect her. If she was not convinced with my words then her daughter would have a dark future.”

The main challenge she faces as a teacher is the lack of required equipment and facilities for optimal learning and teaching. She is, however, not without hope: “When [students] study and work hard, it makes me hopeful about their future. When my students call me “teacher,” it makes me proud.” She is thankful to international aid donors for their support of Afghanistan’s education sector, which enables her to help educate those who cannot go to school.