LHI Looks Back on 2023

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

LHI’s COO Walker, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation Jaron, and Founder and Director Hayley distributed aid to survivors of the earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria in February.

Looking back over the past year, we cannot believe all you have helped us to do! Here are the highlights!

The LHI Community Center in Serres, Greece

LHI’s Director of Monitoring and Evaluation Jaron and founder of our Utah programs Carlissa lent some elbow grease to improvement projects at the LHI Community Center in Serres.

It was a year of continued growth and innovation at the LHI Community Center, which is located near two refugee camps in Serres, Greece. The LHI Greece team was thrilled to receive new computers for the education program and new shelving for the community center’s aid warehouse. After talking with the women who attend programs at the Female Friendly Space, the team also adjusted the way we distribute clothing, school supplies, baby items and other aid. Instead of handing out parcels, the team instead created “free shops” where beneficiaries can select their own items. This small change not only provides people with a sense of dignity, but also brings a lot of excitement and joy.

The LHI Greece team set up a free shop where parents could shop for baby items including these handmade teddy bears.

utah programs

LHI team members and volunteers loaded this container of aid for Jordan in October.

Our Utah team prepared and shipped 18 containers of material aid to places like Bangladesh, where thousands of Rohingya refugees living in a large refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar were impacted by a fire in March, Afghanistan, where 6.6 million people have been internally displaced by conflict and natural disasters, and Gaza, where over 80% of the population has been displaced. The team also sent 7 shipments to the US/Mexico border to help shelters there provide warm clothing, hygiene products, and baby kits to migrants.

The US Office for Refugee Resettlement provides local resettlement agencies with a list of items that must be in apartments of resettled refugees. If the items aren't donated, they must be purchased from the family's small stipend. LHI's Utah team relies on donations from you to keep our warehouse stocked so that we can provide all the items resettled refugees need!

The Welcome Program has grown so much that we had to expand our warehouse! So far this year, LHI volunteers have set up 285 apartments for refugees resettling in Utah. And, in addition to our long-standing partnerships with the International Rescue Committee and Catholic Community Services, LHI is now working with Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection to make sure that resettled refugees in Logan, Utah come home to an apartment furnished with everything they need.

ukraine

The battery powered incubators you helped us provide put to good use at Bashtanka Hospital in Mykolaiv, Ukraine.

Last year, we asked you to help us get Ukrainians through a cold and uncertain winter and you responded! We were able to provide generators, battery powered infant incubators, sleeping bags and long underwear throughout Ukraine. Our teams in Ukraine have also been able to get consistent material, medical and psychological aid to frontline communities all year long.

LHI's Ukraine country director Serhii (center) organized LHI's response to the dam collapse, including finding this truck which pumped thousands of tons of water out of homes and businesses.

When the Kakhovka Dam in Kherson province ruptured in June, our teams responded not only by helping those displaced from their homes, but also by pumping thousands of tons of water out of homes and businesses. 

Moldova

Participants in the Story Time Project performed some of the Ukranian folk tales they had read for family and friends!

Looking back on all the work our Moldova team has done with Ukrainian refugees, it is hard to believe that our community center in Balti and our Storytime Project are not even a year old! Both programs provide social emotional support activities for participants and keep Ukrainian language and culture alive.

Children at the LHI Community Center in Balti participate in a yoga class, part of the social emotional supports offered to Ukrainian refugees.

jordan

LHI Founder and Director Hayley Smith toured one of the modular classrooms LHI was able to build for Syrian refugee children in Jordan.

In Jordan, it’s all about kids and kids! The first set of kids are the Syrian refugee children who have benefitted from the 3 modular classrooms we built this year. Because Jordanian schools are already at capacity, building classrooms means that Syrian children can attend school. 

This family turned the 2 milk goats they received from LHI into a herd of 25 in just 2 years!

The second set of kids are the 1,200 Shami milk goats we have distributed to Syrian refugee families. The families who benefited had been goat herders in Syria, but had to leave their herds behind when they fled civil war. Having milk goats allows these families to improve their family’s nutrition and move towards self-sufficiency as they sell milk and grow their herd. One family we visited this year had turned the two milk goats they received two years ago into 25! The income they earned from goat milk and goat products allowed them to leave the refugee camp and rent a home. 

emergency response

LHI's COO Walker distributed aid to an earthquake survivor in Turkey.

LHI specializes in responding to emergency situations quickly, talking to the people impacted, and finding out what they most need. In February, we were able to assist both Turkish and Syrian people impacted by earthquakes by providing medical and psychological first aid, hygiene kits, and food packages. 

LHI responded to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza quickly, finding partners on the ground to help us source aid and get it to civilians who need it in Gaza.

In October, we arrived in Egypt and got right to work finding the right partners to help us get aid to the over one million people displaced in the Gaza Strip. We established a partnership with the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) who helped us get food and medicine into Gaza.

We Couldn’t Have Done It Without You!

Whether you are an LHI volunteer or a donor, whether you’ve tied blankets or assembled hygiene kits for a service project, or whether you are a partner or a grant provider, you are a part of our team. Thank you for your support this year. We look forward to working together again in 2024 to meet needs around the world. No politics. Simply humanitarian.

Gather for Goats: A Path to Self-Sufficiency for Syrian Refugees in Jordan

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

Hayley Smith, LHI founder and director, poses with some of the 3,148 milk goats that we’ve distributed to Syrian refugee families living in Jordan.

“Goat milk?”

“Get your goat!”

“Here we goat again!”

A goat pun is never far from the lips (or typing fingers) of Lifting Hands International staff. It’s not really a surprise, since our Gather for Goats program is one of our longest running and most popular—you might even say it’s the G.O.A.T.! (See what I just did there?)

How it started

Gather for Goats was born when LHI founder and director Hayley Smith was distributing aid supplies to Syrian refugees living near the town of Al Mafraq in Jordan in 2017. When Hayley, who speaks Arabic, asked people what they needed, the response was overwhelmingly, “goats!” 

Many families who fled to Jordan are Bedouin and have a rich background in agriculture and caring for animals. They’ve been raising livestock for several generations. Raising goats and sheep was a prosperous and respected profession. But when the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, families had to leave everything behind, including their herds, some of which numbered in the hundreds.

Recently, LHI founder and director Hayley Smith was treated to a variety of goat milk products made by recipients of our goats!

Having goats again, people told Hayley, would improve their standard of living tremendously. How? Goat milk provides essential protein, vitamins and minerals. Also, people can sell extra milk and milk products. They can breed the goats to grow their herd and generate income by selling male offspring. 

Hayley, who has a passion for the Arabic language, loves connecting with beneficiaries and finding out exactly what they most need to achieve self-sufficiency and a sense of dignity.

The request made sense, so Hayley contacted a professor of agriculture at the University of Jordan in Amman for advice on the breed and finding a professional goat inspector. After connecting with a local partner org near the Syrian border in May 2017, we distributed our first 286 goats to 143 Syrian refugee families who live in improvised refugee camps across the Mafraq region. And we have only grown the program from there! To date, we’ve distributed 3,418 milk goats to Syrian families in Jordan!

Breed is Key!

We don’t distribute just any old breed of goat. We carefully select Shami-Baladi crossbreed goats, also known as Damascus goats. These friendly Middle Eastern natives are prolific milk producers, yielding 350 to 650 liters of milk annually, and often giving birth to twins and triplets. Baladi goats thrive in hot, arid environments, making them ideal for the beneficiaries of LHI's Gather for Goats program. These goats, sourced by LHI, are the perfect choice for promoting self-sufficiency, excelling in harsh conditions while providing abundant milk and offspring.

Last month, Hayley visited a family that received 2 LHI milk goats 2 years ago, one of which was already pregnant with triplets. In those two years, with a combination of breeding, selling male offspring to buy more females for more breeding, 2 goats into 25! They were able to move out of the camp into a home nearby. That’s goat to be a record!

Some experts think that  Shami goats' long ears help dissipate heat and keep them cooler in hot desert conditions.

We’ve distributed thousands of goats, so aren’t we done yet? Not by a long shot. There are an estimated 1.3 million Syrian refugees living in Jordan, and our waitlist for goats is longer than the ears on a Shami goat. Our goal this year is to give 2,108 milk goats to 1,054 families. With your help, we can provide a simple first step to improved nutrition, self-sufficiency, and the dignity that comes by practicing centuries-long traditions.

Have you goat what it takes to make a huge difference in the lives of Syrian families in Jordan? Visit our Gather for Goats page to make your gift today!

Welcoming Little Amal to Boston!

Meet Little Amal, a 12 foot tall puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee. Here, she is welcomed in London in 2021 after completing a 5,000 mile journey across Europe. I’m excited to welcome her to my hometown in a week!

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

Little Amal, whose name means “hope” in Arabic, is a 12 foot tall puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee girl. She was created by Handspring Puppet Company to bring hope to refugees and displaced people around the world, especially children separated from their parents. She has traveled to more than 97 towns and cities in 15 countries and been welcomed by more than a million people. Her urgent message to us all is “Don’t forget about us.”

When I learned that Little Amal was coming to the United States, and was starting her journey right here in Boston, I wanted to find out how to be a part of welcoming her. I learned that the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a partner of Amal Walks Across America and is holding a series of workshops for the community to prepare for Amal’s arrival. Intrigued, I signed up for a session.

Yuna is excited to welcome Little Amal with an assortment of Amal’s favorite food: cookies!

I arrived at the Harvard Ed Portal, a space for collaboration between Harvard University and the communities that surround it. I quickly met Yuna, age 4, and her sister Mina, age 2, who were there with their parents. Yuna had been reading books about refugees which is how she learned about Little Amal. Both girls were excited to tell the group that they’d seen a video of Little Amal’s appearance on the daytime TV program The View.

While Brisa Areli Muñoz, who is directing the Little Amal project for the A.R.T., led us through a poetry exercise, Yuna and Mila worked with Donya, a teaching artist at the A.R.T, to create posters to welcome Little Amal. What did the girls draw? Cookies! They’d learned from The View that cookies are Little Amal’s favorite food.

I was surprised and excited to find out that part of our role at the workshop that day was to think about what might happen when Little Amal approaches the gates to Harvard Yard. If you haven’t seen these gates in person or in photographs, they are a series of elaborate wrought iron gates spaced throughout a brick wall that surrounds Harvard Yard. 

Brisa led our group through a conversation about what Little Amal’s approach to these gates might look like. We talked about the gates as a symbol for barriers—not only to Little Amal, but to many people who may not be able to access education, never mind the elite education of an Ivy League college. Emma, an A.R.T. student intern, shared that at night, the gates are locked and students must show their college ID to enter Harvard Yard. This led us to think about the importance of IDs and documents when crossing borders, and that some refugees and displaced people may not have had time to gather those items before fleeing their homes.

Ken, Emma, and Yolanda workshop a scene depicting Little Amal’s arrival at the gates of Harvard Yard. Thank you to the chairs for playing the role of the gate!

Then, Emma, Yolanda, a recent graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Ken, a fellow community member, and I were tasked with coming up with possible ways Little Amal might interact with the gates to Harvard Yard. My group wanted the experience to communicate some truths about what refugees might experience. We came up with a scenario where Little Amal is turned away because she does not have an ID and can only enter when a person in power intervenes. A riff on this idea was one where two students collaborate to distract the security guard so that the ID-less Amal can sneak in.

My favorite idea, however, is that Little Amal sees a book floating through the Yard on the other side of the gates. She enters through the gates following the promises the book holds. 

I think this is my favorite scenario because although my work at LHI has taught me so much about the challenges facing refugees and displaced people, it has also taught me through our library and education programs in Greece, our classroom program in Jordan, and our Storytime Project in Moldova, that stories, books, and learning offer hope and bring joy. 

So, while I don’t know which direction Brisa and her team will take, I hope it is the magic book. I am excited to find out as I continue to participate in this project and welcome Little Amal on September 7!

To find out more about Lifting Hands International’s work with refugees and displaced people here in the United States and around the world, and how you can help us in this work, click here!

Help Syrian Children Get Back To School in Jordan!

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

Many Syrian students are able to attend school in Jordan thanks to these innovative modular classrooms. Don’t you love seeing all the amazing work on the walls? Oh, and the LHI logos aren’t to shabby either!

According to the UNHCR, almost half (48%) of refugee kids miss out on school. Sometimes, there's no school nearby, fees are too high, or the host country won't allow them in public schools. 

In the case of Syrian refugees living in Jordan, a major challenge is space. Due to the massive influx of Syrian families into Jordan, schools started holding two shifts a day to accommodate both local and also Syrian children. And there still isn’t enough room. 

One solution LHI has been quietly piloting over the last couple of years is providing modular classrooms complete with electrical connections, furniture, and bathrooms right on public school campuses. From there, Jordan’s Ministry of Education pays teacher salaries and takes care of maintenance. Just one classroom can accommodate 40 children using the two-shift-a-day model. Best of all, it only takes $13,000 to install each classroom. That’s just $65 per child over a 5 year period!

Now that we’ve installed five mobile classrooms in Jordan and have seen the tremendous impact they’ve had, we are ready to get louder about this program. We need your help. We are running our back-to-school fundraiser focused on getting Syrian children in Jordan back to school! 

As you are perhaps getting your own children ready for a new school year, or watching the neighborhood kids wait for the bus, why not take a moment to help Syrian children get back to school as well? A donation of any size will help a child to learn, grow, and thrive. If you are on Facebook, you can visit our Facebook fundraiser page by clicking here. Or, you can visit our website to make a donation by clicking here.

About me: I was a secondary school teacher in high-needs public schools in the metro-Boston area for almost 20 years. In that time, I worked with incredible students, many of whom were facing hardships including poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, immigration concerns, and learning disabilities. I believe that education is a basic human right. My greatest wish is for internally displaced or refugee children to get the education they deserve.

The LHI Difference: Humanitarian Aid From Person to Person

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

Edu, LHI’s Director of Field Operations in Moldova, distributes toys to Ukrainian refugee children.

Yesterday morning, I was busy getting the kids ready for school. As usual, I had one AirPod in so that I could catch Morning Edition while also fielding breakfast requests and packing snack bags. My ears perked up when I heard the intro to a story about how the Turkish city of Sanliurfa is using lessons learned from welcoming Syrian refugees to assist people displaced by the earthquakes.

As I listened, the words of an interviewee, Ali Altin, who runs a distribution center in Sanliurfa, caught my attention. He observed that Syrian war refugees and earthquake survivors share this similarity: “Families who have never wanted for anything before in their lives are suddenly in need of a single diaper, and you can sense they don’t know how to tell you what they need and are almost apologetic for asking.”

This statement brought me back to a voice memo Edu, LHI’s Director of Field Operations in Moldova, sent me a few weeks back about why he thinks it is important that he is there, on the ground, when aid is distributed. And, since Edu took a good deal of time to send me the voice memo, I’ll let him take the lead in telling you why LHI’s practice of having team members at humanitarian aid distributions as often as possible is so important.

Edu often opens boxes of aid with beneficiaries. This gives him an opportunity to talk with people and to better understand their situation and their needs.

Being present at distributions brings humanity and dignity to a moment that is quite delicate.

Edu told me, “I think that asking for humanitarian aid, asking for help is something that can be humiliating. It makes people feel vulnerable and nobody likes it. So that is the starting point. And I think if I am there, wearing LHI gear, representing the organization, it brings some humanity to this process, and makes the beneficiaries feel better because they know it's from human to human.”

Edu also shared that some NGOs unload boxes of aid and leave. He said that the effect of this is that: “they don’t even know refugees faces. This could be quite undignifying for them, for the people who receive the support, and that is unfortunately how it works usually. They just load a truck with stuff, send it to the village where there is need, unload it, and that is it. People don’t even know where these things come from, who donated, and probably they get a feeling that the donors don’t care much about them. 

When I take part in a distribution, people can say thank you to me. That brings a bit of dignity and humanity in the process- in this moment that is quite delicate.

Refugees remember more about LHI. There is a person who makes the moment more memorable. It makes it a nicer experience.”

Edu spent some time playing with Ukrainian children sheltering in the dorms at university in Chisinau, Moldova. Edu got the idea to set up a playroom when he saw the children playing in the narrow corridors during an aid distribution.

Meeting beneficiaries helps LHI to get to know them, to better understand their needs, and to help them get the aid and services they are not able to get anywhere else.

Edu told me that when he is present at distributions, “I get to know the real situation. I get to see where the refugees live and what are their needs. I get to talk to them. I get to listen to them. I could not have such a grasp on their lives if I were not there.”

Edu’s presence at one distribution led to one of LHI’s coolest projects in Moldova. He said: “When I distributed aid to a university [that shelters Ukrainian refugees in its dormitories], I saw the kids playing in the corridor and then I had the idea that maybe we could set up a playroom for these kids. That has been one of the most successful projects so far in Moldova, and that idea just sparked during a distribution.”

LHI founder and director Hayley Smith talks with a woman during a distribution of aid to earthquake survivors in Turkey.

LHI’s COO Walker echoed Edu’s sentiments recently in a staff meeting when he reflected on his recent visit to earthquake survivors in Turkey. He told us about a Syrian refugee he met who’d first lost three of her children in Syria because of the civil war, and had now lost six more children in the earthquake. She and other women and children were sleeping on the floor in a mosque. What they needed were mattresses so that they could get off of the cold, hard floor. Because of this conversation, LHI was able to provide the people sleeping in the mosque that small, but much needed, comfort.

LHI’s Walker, Jaron, and Hayley recently traveled through Turkey to personally distribute aid to earthquake survivors.

Walker also told us that he spent some time playing with the children who were sheltering at the mosque. He said, “There is not much for [earthquake survivors] to do.” Many people are not working because they’ve been displaced from their homes, or because their workplaces have been destroyed, or because supply chains have been greatly disrupted. Children are not in school because buildings are damaged or teachers have been killed or displaced. In light of this, Walker said, “It feels very valuable to play with the kids and engage them.”

LHI’s Ukraine country director Serhii (he’s the one with the sunglasses on his head) recently traveled to Kherson where he met with volunteers who serve their community and affected villages at great risk to themselves. Meeting people and forming partnerships is how LHI gets its work done.

The relationships and partnerships that pave the way for LHI to do its work are forged on the ground.

Serhii, our Ukraine country director, puts this best. He told me:

“A partnership isn't built by phone calls, emails, or agreements. It is forged on dusty roads and in destroyed villages. [Before joining LHI], I was doing massive projects with dozens of teammates and thousands of beneficiaries, and it was easy to lose the sense of human connection. My job isn't about metric tons or quantity; that's about connecting the dots and ultimately bringing people together. That's why I travel with our fantastic partners, whenever possible, to the most affected areas. We drive, unload aid and sometimes seek shelter together.

Now I can see the hard work of our partners, share the team spirit and remind myself about the very essence of humanitarianism. We build hope, empower people, and come together as a big family.”

And I think Serhii hits the nail on the head: the essence of humanitarianism is seeing the humanity in our beneficiaries and partners and working together to provide the things people need to maintain or rebuild their sense of dignity and self-sufficiency.

If you’d like to learn more about our team , our work, and how you can help, please visit our website!

Beneficiary Spotlight: The Syrian People

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

Walker, LHI COO, and Hayley, LHI Founder and Director, along with Hisham from our partner HHRD distribute school supplies to Syrian children who live in camps in northern Jordan.

Lifting Hands International’s mission is to provide aid to refugees at home and abroad. LHI supports refugees who come from a wide range of locations and cultures but share a common experience—having to leave everything behind, flee their homes, and try to start over somewhere else.

Our second installment of our beneficiary spotlight series focuses on the people of Syria.

The Syrian Civil War Begins

In 2011, inspired by the success of the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, some pro-democracy Syrians decided to try their hand at peaceful protest against the oppressive regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Unfortunately, these protests were met with violence from the Assad regime.

Tensions escalated between the Assad regime and opponents. Bodies such as the United Nations and the Arab League attempted to stop the violence through negotiations and brokered cease fires, but these efforts all failed or deteriorated. The European Union and the United States imposed sanctions and embargoes against Syria, but war broke out. 

Refugee Crisis

The “life-vest graveyard” on Lesvos, Greece, during the height of the influx of Syrian and other refugees into Europe. Photo credit: Shannon Ashton, who accompanied us on this trip in December 2015.

As a result of these hardships, 13 million Syrians, half of the country’s population, fled their homes. Half of those 13 million Syrians fled to neighboring countries. The other half are displaced within Syria, living in camps. While people started fleeing Syria fleeing in 2011, the crisis didn’t really make the news until 2015, when more than a million refugees made their way to Europe on rubber dinghies.

Eleven Years On

Many Syrians cannot return home, even if they wanted to. The war is still going on and has become central to the international power dynamics between democratic countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, both of which support the opposition, and authoritarian-leaning countries such as Russia and Iran, which support the Assad regime. 

Moreover, years of war and sanctions have led to the collapse of the Syrian economy. Before the war, Syria was considered a middle income country. Now, over 80% of its population lives in poverty. In addition, key infrastructure such as roads, sanitation systems, electric and water treatment plants, housing and schools have been destroyed. 

How LHI Helps

This kiddo was telling the BEST jokes in Arabic! Hayley and Walker visit a small Syrian camp in northern Jordan.

Lifting Hands International helps internally displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees by sending humanitarian aid to places like Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey through our International Aid program. This aid includes items such as clothing, hygiene kits and baby kits. 

Over 2 million Syrians fled to neighboring Jordan. Many of those refugees come from southern Syria, a region that is home to generations of goat and sheep herders. When Syrian refugees left home, they all had to leave their flocks and farms behind, only to be stolen by the regime. 

A strong Syrian mama and her family welcome their two new milk goats courtesy of our generous donors! Madaba, Jordan.

LHI runs our Gather for Goats program in rural Jordan, where many Syrian families have settled. This program provides Syrian families in Jordan with milk goats that provide a consistent source of nutritious milk. And families often sell the baby goats, generating income that leads to more self-sufficiency. 

To learn more about what our Gather for Goats program means for Syrian refugees in Jordan and to watch a video of Hayley distributing goats to families, click here

Meet Jude from Syria

4 hours outside of Athens, in the middle of remote agricultural land dotted with small villages lies an abandoned beach resort that is now known as Myrsini refugee camp. 

One family we met there shares a tiny little villa that sleeps at most 3 people with another large family. They invited us in, and we squished into the bedroom (there is no gathering space) to talk. They brought us some water to drink and apologized that they didn't have any food to serve us.

And then in comes Jude, a feisty and smiley 5 year-old girl. She was really upset at first (she's really shy) and tried to run away screaming, but she calmed down the second her aunt came into the room and scooped her up. This is her story:

Jude's parents and all of her 3 siblings were killed by a bombing in Syria about three years ago. The explosion rendered her deaf except for very high frequencies that don't naturally occur outside of a hearing test. She doesn't remember her parents or siblings. She knows her aunt and uncle as her parents. They communicate using homemade sign language since they don't have access to deaf education. It is clear that her family loves her very much.

Her family make up some of the 50,000 refugees indefinitely stranded in Greece since the borders closed in May of this year. It will take about 1-2 years for the refugees in Greece to get resettled in other countries. This family hopes to go to Germany, where they can try for cochlear implants to restore Jude's hearing. It will be some time before this happens. 

When I was down at the beach a few hours later filming some footage of swim time, Jude ran up to me, her little body in a swimsuit, a mess of wet hair dripping water down her face, her eyes laughing as she showed me a handful of sand she'd just picked up. She threw a handful towards the water and looked back at me and laughed. I leaned down and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. I told her "Ana bahibik" (I love you in Arabic). I know she couldn't hear it, but I said it anyway. :) She turned around and ran into the water, pumping her little legs as much as she could. Keep on going, Jude! What a special girl.