The past few months have been filled with debate over the reopening of schools and universities. Many schools are adopting a hybrid approach of part-time classes and remote learning and some are entirely remote due to COVID-19. Due to these circumstances, education is not available to all children. Not all families can afford to have a computer, internet access, or a stable home environment to ensure their children are all able to do their schoolwork. These challenges are especially common for refugee families in the Middle East, particularly those in Iraq, Jordan, or Syria. Recent studies have shown that close to half a billion children around the world lack access to education because they lack the proper equipment to study from home. Of that total, an estimated 37 million children in the Middle East and North Africa do not have access to equipment for remote learning. In these places, education has often already been interrupted due to war or displacement. […]
Updates From Helena Scott at The Olive Tree Center Summer 2020 Online support & learning/development platforms American FRRME continues to provide resume assistance, revision, and immigration assistance to refugees via email and phone. Garden Project This “garden of hope” was created at the Olive Tree Center by refugees, for refugees. Throughout June this Garden was maintained, further cultivated, and really prospered: cucumbers, corn, beans, watermelon, cantaloupe, and tomatoes are now abundant. This garden provides the community with a sense of […]
Ten miles away from an American military base in Syria is Camp Rukban. Here 8,000 refugees are starving and isolated from the outside world. The only good news amidst this horrible situation is the zero cases of COVID- 19 in the camp. Camp Rukban used to be home to over 30,000 people, who fled there from all parts of Syria. Thousands of refugees have since returned to their wartorn homes –where they face detention, torture, or execution. Surviving off of […]
With great sadness, we announce the passing of our Executive Director, Brigadier General David E. Greer. General Greer passed away on Thursday, July 30th, 2020. He was 69 years old. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, General Greer graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1972 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery Corps. After active duty with the Second Armored Division at Ft. Hood, Texas, he transitioned to the United States Army Reserve, then […]
In the past week, President Michel Aoun of Lebanon renewed his call for Syrian refugees to return […]
70.8 million people around the world are currently refugees. They have been forced to flee from their homes […]
The life of a refugee is hard, but for a female refugee, it is even harder. Refugee women […]
With a severe bread shortage caused by many bakeries suspending work because of a lack of flour […]
