Where do refugees go?

We are facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. 

There has never been more children and families displaced in human history than today. More than 68 million people have fled their homes and 25 million have fled their country – half of whom are children, being denied their basic child rights and their rights to a childhood.

These people are mothers and fathers who want to see their children reach their full potential. But due to forces out of their control, like conflict, hunger, climate change and disaster, they are in limbo, with little certainty for the future. But where do refugees go – and how can we help?

Thousands of people flee borders every day into neighbouring countries, putting their neighbours under pressure to provide emergency assistance to desperate people in need.

More than six million Syrians have fled into bordering countries, including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Three million have fled from South Sudan to Uganda and more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh.

Refugee settlements are set up as a temporary solution for families fleeing violence and persecution. Flimsy makeshift tents become home as refugees rely on humanitarian aid for food, shelter, clothing and other basic life essentials we often take for granted.

Young sisters, Doruka, 8, and Sejarina, 10, are two of at least 800,000 people who fled from brutal conflict in South Sudan. They trekked for one gruelling month before they reached the border of Uganda, where they were met by World Vision staff at a refugee settlement with safety, shelter and a warm meal. Without the food rations shared by people on their journey, they might not have survived.

In the refugee settlements, humanitarian organisations work together to help families get back on their feet. World Vision works together with the UN World Food Programme to deliver the largest emergency food assistance program across the globe. The World Food Programme provides World Vision with urgently needed food to give to refugees like Doruka and Sejarina after fleeing a crisis. Then, World Vision provides long-term development assistance to empower children and families to rebuild their lives. 

Projects include agricultural training to help families learn better ways to generate incomes, educational support to help children continue their learning, plus healthcare and life-saving nutrition programs.

Jaheda, a Rohingya refugee, gave birth to her daughter Minara at a stranger’s house as she fled violent persecution in Myanmar. Without access to food, she wasn’t sure her daughter would survive.

“Day by day she was getting tinier,” Minara said. “When I arrived in Bangladesh, she was about to die. People were telling me, ‘your daughter will not live.’ I thought, ‘oh my God, am I going to lose my baby?’”

Jaheda is one of the thousands of mothers provided with emergency food support in Cox’s Bazar – the largest refugee settlement in the world. At World Vision’s malnutrition and treatment centre, baby Minara was given high-energy food and was continuously monitored and supported until she reached a healthy weight.

Together, we make a big impact.

Thanks to people like you, World Vision reached more than four million people with urgently needed food assistance in 2018. And in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, World Vision continues to identify new innovate technologies to accelerate impact and reach more hungry people than ever before.

Electronic vouchers, for example, help organisations deliver assistance faster, fairer and with greater accountability. And the World Food Programme is utilising blockchain technology to protect refugee data, reduce costs and improve local economies.

But organisations like World Vision can’t provide help to vulnerable families without the support of people like you. Find out more about how you can help refugees in times of crisis through the Big Impact Appeal here. Last year, we reached four million people. This year, we can reach even more.