Elias

December 27, 2017.

The only things 11 year-old Elias took with him when he ran were the clothes he was wearing and four pencils.

With bullets flying past their front door and slamming into their house, Elias and his family were forced out of their neighborhood by street fighting. They fled their home in a Damascus suburb for a refugee camp just across the Syrian border.

It's been three years now in that camp. Elias misses his house, his games he left behind, and his grandma and grandpa – still in Syria. He asked us to tell everyone in the world, “please don’t fight.”

For tens of...MORE

Ghada

December 19, 2017.

One of the accomplishments you can be most proud of supporting is the 30,000 women who are currently active in therapy groups organized by our Syria team in communities and shelters throughout the country.

Among those efforts is Hear My Heart, a therapy space for women to support one another that is led by trained facilitators. It is also a way for our staff to understand women's needs and worries so we can better serve them and their families.

Hear My Heart helps women and girls like 15-year-old Ghada, who fled Aleppo with her family more than two years...MORE

Sandra

December 8, 2017.

When Sandra first arrived in Damascus two years ago, she barely spoke.

Sandra's parents are both missing. It was her grandmother who brought Sandra and her five siblings to Damascus, to escape fighting near the city of Homs.

When Sandra began attending programs at one of Questscope's shelters, staff there noticed her condition.

"Her grandmother explained to us that she suffered from a speech impediment, and her situation had deteriorated since her parents went missing because she did not receive the required care," one of our staff members at the shelter...MORE

The Berlin Pilot Program

October 30, 2017.

Refugees from Syria are seeking haven all over the world. Germany has taken in more than 300,000. Many are teens who came on their own. They have lost nearly everything that matters to them. Still they are eager to integrate.

They need help navigating a foreign land. They need help learning the language and finding a place to belong. To assist them, Questscope is launching a new pilot program in Berlin.

...MORE

A Champion at Strike Three

September 28, 2017.

A family with no education. Strike One.

A family in need of a few more dollars, just to make it. Strike Two.

Quitting school to work in an aluminum window company. Strike Three.

Or is it?

Zakaria dropped out at age 14 to get those few more dollars for his family. Working all day bending aluminum into window frames for clients’ kitchens left him no time for friends. Or for school. Shy. And quiet-spoken.

His employer, Abdullah, also had Strike Three against him. He went to work at an early age instead of going to school, and he...MORE

Finding Home

August 31, 2017.

The war in Syria is now in its seventh year. Legions of people have had to flee in order to survive. Thousands of families have been forced to leave behind everything they’ve known.

They've lost the houses and neighborhoods they called home. More devastating, they've lost the people and communities they also called home. Those who survive find themselves caught in a cycle of unrest and uncertainty. 69% of Syrians inside Syria are living in extreme poverty. 

We're working every day to help those displaced by violence and persecution...MORE

The Aqaba Project

August 2, 2017.

You might remember Manal. We introduced you to her last summer. She survived a hellish journey from Syria and narrowly missed being sold into early marriage – and an equally bleak future.

Manal is from Aleppo, Syria. Her dad died a few years ago, and her mom became solely responsible for their family. When it became too dangerous to stay in Aleppo, they left with only the clothes on their back. Now they're living as refugees in Aqaba, Jordan.

There are no jobs...MORE

Buried Treasure

June 27, 2017.

Dropping out of middle school to earn a meager handful of much-needed dollars for his family captured Hamzi in a very bad story.

A bad life-story that will cut his future down to a small size of struggle and second-rate opportunities. But it is also a story of buried treasure.

Hamzi was a good student. Math was his favorite subject – his passion. He had to put this passion on ice, maybe forever, when he dropped out to go to work in construction as a 16-year-old.

And it was hard to see his buddies going on to high school. He was left...MORE

Willow Creek in Za'atari: Part 3

June 21, 2017.

As a pleasantly warm room full of smiling Zumba-ers took a break, the instructor asked us how we felt. 

Two feelings instantly came to mind and I shouted them out: Alive and Together.

We don't share a language, but the common appearance of flushed cheeks and big grins told me that we all felt the same. Our mutual feminine humanity, despite the mixture of culture or faith, effervesced via fast heart beats and a Latin dance beat.

Looking back, it occurs to me that Alive and Together best reflect my entire day at Questscope in...MORE

Willow Creek in Za'atari: Part 2

June 19, 2017.

After spending a day with Questscope staff and volunteers, my entire perception of refugees has shifted. I left in awe of the joy, love and consideration I experienced and observed.

I think Western news often asks us to believe that refugees are under-resourced, under-skilled people who are living in hopeless and dark situations. It was beautiful to see the opposite at Questscope. The people I met were passionate teachers, talented artists, and hopeful souls that welcomed me with open arms. 

I remember my...MORE

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