2023
Strength for today, hope for tomorrow.
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Families displaced by conflict in Karen State, Myanmar.
In 2023, amidst challenges we would rather forget, such as the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the Myanmar Army's brutal actions displacing many thousands of innocent civilians, and the ongoing struggles faced by the Rohingya in Rakhine State, you provided remarkable generosity and impact.
Your support made it possible for our team to assist a record number of more than 700,000 people swiftly and effectively. Within just 12 hours of the Turkey-Syria earthquake, life-saving aid and food reached those in need, because of your commitment to immediate action in times of crisis. Furthermore, your willingness to reach remote and difficult-to-access areas demonstrated solidarity with communities enduring profound hardships, offering them not just assistance but also a sense of recognition and value.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to you for your invaluable contributions towards feeding families, ensuring children's access to education, delivering healthcare to the vulnerable, empowering communities to address their specific needs, and ultimately granting more children the chance to lead fulfilling, unrestricted lives. Your support has made a significant difference in the lives of many, and we deeply appreciate your ongoing commitment and generosity.
As you read through this impact report, I hope you see it for what it really is, a heartfelt thank you for all you helped us accomplish in 2023.
Gratefully,
Brad Hazlett
Myanmar
186,463 Assisted.
It’s hard to imagine the scale of the humanitarian disaster that has unfolded since the Myanmar military coup. By the end of 2023, over 2 million people had been displaced by the conflict. As armed resistance groups gained significant momentum in their campaign against the regime, retaliatory attacks continued, leading to a great deal of suffering across Myanmar. Families in Rakhine State experienced the additional devastation of the worst cyclone to hit the region in a decade. As a result, the food, access to health care, education, and livelihood training you helped provide was a lifeline for many throughout Myanmar.
23,355
people received some form of health care assistance or were trained as health care workers.
283,792
kilograms of rice were provided to communities struggling with food shortages.
13,069
children have benefited from a range of education initiatives.
In times of uncertainty, sustainable farming helps bring some stability.
More conflict has meant more families forced into hide sites. And that makes farming - the lifeblood of many communities - even harder. The Eden Development Training center, situated in the center of this ongoing conflict, trained 114 villagers, like Naw Say Eh Wah, in organic farming techniques that will bring greater success in their food production efforts. “The topic I liked most was making compost in an organic way…I want to share and teach my knowledge to the villagers and my students.”
Thailand
5,356 Assisted.
You worked in migrant communities and amongst refugee populations to provide greater access to education, vocational and livelihood training, health care and food support as more people flee the escalating conflict in neighboring Myanmar in the search for safety and a more hopeful future.
3,561
migrants received food, health and financial assistance that supported their families and helped keep their kids in school.
1,082
refugees and migrants benefited from education initiatives.
1,162
reusable feminine hygiene kits were produced through the sewing project for fair wages.
Kids fleeing conflict need a safe place to study.
Escalating airstrikes and the closure of all higher education institutions in Karen State has forced many more families to make the difficult decision to send their children to refugee camps on the Thai-Myanmar border. That’s why the community-run boarding homes Partners supports in the camps play an increasingly critical role in delivering educational opportunities and providing basic needs to children who have been left extremely vulnerable by the conflict, like 15-year-old Saw Eh K Por Soe. “We were always disturbed by the conflict. After I came here, I felt really happy that I have the opportunity to go to school regularly without any disturbance.”
Bangladesh
14,724 Assisted.
Almost a million Rohingya refugees continue to live in a state of limbo across some of the largest, most crowded refugee camps in the world. More than half of them are children, who face multiple threats to their health, safety and wellbeing. You continued to work alongside these displaced communities, focusing on providing access to basic medical care and schooling, as well as providing emergency relief when they faced the additional challenges of massive fires in the camps and the effects of Cyclone Mocha.
157
people moved into rebuilt homes, many of them women-led households facing hardship.
293
students attended 5 local schools that you supported in struggling communities.
6,620
people were seen by Rohingya Community Health Workers who provided basic diagnosis and medications.
Access to clean water is everything.
Water is life; we simply cannot exist without it. For many Rohingya families seeking refugee in Bangladesh, that can mean going to great lengths to access a basic necessity many of us are used to getting from a nearby tap. When our local contact heard of women in a community near Cox’s Bazar traveling a long way to get clean water, you responded. After identifying the right spot and installing a new water well, 50 families no longer have to travel to get the water they need to survive.
Iraq
1,899 Assisted.
Refurbishing a school, providing trauma care and education support to children, actively empowering more young girls and women to restore some of the freedom and dignity taken from them during the ISIS occupation; these are the ways you helped a region left deeply scarred by conflict and oppression move toward a hopeful future.
180
children took part in our trauma care program which included art therapy, character building activities, along with lessons in music, dance, hygiene and English.
194
students from grade 7-12 are now learning in a newly refurbished school in the Sinjar region of Iraq.
411
women and girls participated in Female Health, Life Skills and English classes, aimed at bringing dignity and hope to those in communities that have suffered under ISIS.
Building peace through art.
Rebuilding infrastructure after the destruction of conflict may be relatively straightforward. But what about rebuilding war-torn hearts? Where do we begin to build peace that lasts in a community scarred by a long history of violence and aggression? We start with art. Through our local partner, the Sustainable Peace Foundation, you’ve been nurturing peacebuilding and healing through art therapy in Mosul and the surrounding area. Through six months of music classes and community dialogue sessions, young people have been equipped to become active participants in peace building in their communities.
Syria
187,933 Assisted.
Refurbishing a school, providing trauma care and medical support to vulnerable children, delivering rapid emergency relief to thousands of families impacted by the most destructive earthquake in generations; these are the ways you helped a region also deeply scarred by conflict and oppression take steps toward a more hopeful future.
468
students are back in a newly renovated school that was suffering from overcrowding due to an influx of families displaced by fighting.
33,702
instances of children in Al-Hol camp accessing activities in a child-friendly space designed for play, learning and healing.
17,521
people in Al-Hol were assisted through a medical clinic run inside the camp.
Play is important. Especially when recovering from a natural disaster.
Time and time again we are amazed by the resilience of children caught in the grip of conflict and natural disaster. Even so, trauma care for these kids is a critical part of helping them to experience free, full lives. 85 children near Aleppo Governorate in Northwest Syria, who had survived the destruction of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, were able to participate in play-based trauma care activities. As one father shared, “You can see the children are traumatized. But you visiting here is like hope. The children feel somehow open, comfortable, they feel better.”
Turkey
13,847 Assisted.
Rapid emergency response during times of crisis is our lane. Within 12 hours of the worst natural disaster to strike the region in modern history, you were on the ground with us, providing critical food and evacuation support for families whose lives were left in ruins.
11,644
people received food packs or hot meals to keep their families fed in the immediate aftermath.
409
people were assisted to evacuate from areas at risk from aftershocks to safer locations.
Going to the ones others have forgotten.
Responding quickly in times of crisis is a part of our DNA. But equally so is our heart to find the ones who have slipped through the cracks; those communities in harder-to-reach places where government agencies or other NGOs are unable to access or have decided it’s too difficult to respond effectively. For remote communities in Turkey’s mountainous areas who were equally as affected by the earthquake, the food, clothing and sleeping bags you arrived with meant they didn’t have to face displacement from their homes cold, hungry and alone.
Yemen
301,407 Assisted.
Described as one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, the impact of Yemen’s continuing civil war is beyond comprehension, with over 21 million people in need of humanitarian aid. In 2023, we were able to work alongside our local partner to help facilitate the distribution of food, clean water, clothing and financial assistance.
715
children whose families are facing economic hardship were provided with new clothes.
14,277
vulnerable people received food baskets with essential supplies like flour, rice, sugar and oil.
282,002
people experiencing water shortages were supplied with clean water to refill their tanks.