Syria - IOM’s EUR 1.5 million Italian-funded psychosocial project in Syria, which was launched in June this year, has so far benefited over 28,000 Syrian men, women and children caught up in the on-going violence in the country.

IOM is currently implementing the first phase of the project, which aims to provide training in basic psychosocial considerations and care to 1,200 non-specialist professionals and volunteers by December 2013. The trainees are anticipated to reach 260,000 beneficiaries from affected communities in Damascus, Rural Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Lattakia and Tartous.

“The emotional wounds of this conflict are less visible than the destruction of houses. Syria has been a stable country for decades and the few existing psychosocial professionals are not equipped to deal with the emotional hurt caused by this massive crisis. Many people have also left the country. In order to respond to the needs, it is important to create psychosocial awareness and sensitivity in all carers in direct touch with the affected populations, many of whom are going through the same experiences as their beneficiaries,” says Amal Ataya, IOM’s psychosocial programme manager in Damascus.

IOM’s psychosocial trainings in this phase target frontline humanitarian workers, carers working in orphanages, shelter managers, creative organizers, community mediators and counsellors.

Since January 2013, IOM has visited 292 shelters where internally displaced persons (IDPs) are mostly living in cramped conditions, with a lack of privacy, and limited access to water and sanitation.

It has trained 102 shelter managers in Damascus, Rural Damascus, Tartous and Homs on how to protect and promote the psychosocial well-being of the residents in the day-to-day activities of the shelter.

It provides advice on how to organize shelter spaces, foster participation in decision making, create special routines for the most vulnerable, provide non-discriminatory information, and promote discussion groups.

Apart from the more structured training activities, IOM provides also emergency interventions. Following the influx of over 5,000 IDPs into Lattakia on 11 August, it trained 19 frontline workers working with IDPs in psychological first aid (PFA).

According to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), some 4.25 million of Syrians are displaced, with 147,000 IDPs living in more than 829 shelters.

For further information please contact

Amal Ataya
IOM Damascus
Email: aataya@iom.int
Tel: +963 953300083