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<p>The IRC prevents and treats malaria, one of the leading causes of death in the region where the IRC works. Nyine Tun arrived at the Mao Tao clinic in Thailand with a severe case of malaria she had contracted two weeks prior in Myanmar. Unable to pay for medicine, she found free health care that saved her life at the IRC-supported clinic.</p>
<p>The IRC also helps hundreds of thousands of visually impaired refugees and victims of war restore their vision through a unique program that offers free glasses and eye surgery. Refugees, some of whom had been nearly blind, are now more self-sufficient and can see their loved ones again.</p>
<p>Land-mines are a leading cause of injury for this population of refugees. The IRC helps land-mine victims and others with special needs with medical care and emotional support.</p>
<p>The IRC works with the local community to help train refugees, some of whom are amputees themselves, to create prosthetic limbs and raise awareness about the threat of landmines.</p>
<p>Refugee women face many challenges, from sexual assault, abuse and neglect to exploitation in the sex trade and other industries. The IRC works with local partners to provide women with safe havens where they have access to medical care, counseling, job training and more.</p>
<p>Women are especially vulnerable during pregnancy. The IRC supports women with free prenatal care and also makes sure their babies have a safe and healthy start with medical care and birth certificates.</p>
<p>To help children grow up safe from abuse and succeed, the IRC works with local Thai partners to strengthen children&rsquo;s rights and provide children with an education, as well as with medical and social services. Through this collaboration, the IRC has aided over 100,000 young Burmese refugees.</p>
<p>A minority of refugees in Thailand are in the camps. Hundreds of thousands head to urban areas in search of work, but upon arrival face difficult circumstances that expose them to exploitation and disease. Many urban refugees become trapped in forced labor on farms, factories or in the sex trade and are unable to obtain social or health services or send their children to Thai schools.</p>
<p>In response, the IRC helps the Thai government set up health facilities in urban areas and provides legal counseling and referral services to refugees who are victims of crime or abuse. The IRC also assists refugees seeking admission to the United States by processing their asylum claims with the U.S. government.</p>
<p>As Thailand battles its worst flooding in 50 years, the IRC is offering support to Burmese refugee and migrant workers who are being affected by the devastation and pressing government officials and agencies to provide food, shelter and basic services. In Wat Kan Ham, more than 300 Burmese refugees live in an apartment block, which is now littered with floating garbage and debris.</p>

Inside our work in Thailand

11.29.2011

When refugees enter Thailand from neighboring countries, the IRC works with local partners to provide them with a safe environment to recover from illness and injuries, give birth to healthy babies, find jobs and start over.

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An IRC health volunteer translates for a Burmese family at a meeting in Bangkok
A boy makes his way home on a makeshift raft.
An IRC advocacy coordinator distributes water purification tablets in Bangkok
Kaew Nimit and her family wade through flood waters in Bangkok

In the flood's wake

Thailand
11.28.2011

While Thailand’s worst flooding in half a century recedes from most of the capital, nearly a half million Burmese residents of Bangkok are still being seriously affected by the devastation left in the flood’s wake. The IRC is aiding both Burmese and Thai residents in two of the city's hardest-hit neighborhoods. 

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<p>The number of Somalis fleeing to Kenya has slowed to a trickle since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in pursuit of Al Shabab militants. As a result, thousands of people are trapped inside Somalia with few safe places to go. After fleeing their home in the south, this family found refuge in a makeshift camp in Galkayo in central Somalia.</p>
<p>This woman took shelter in Galkayo after fleeing clan fighting in the Mudug region. Somalia has been beset by such fighting since 1991 when the former central government was toppled by rival clan militias.</p>
<p>The Sa&rsquo;ad clan militia - some of their fighters are pictured here - regularly fight rival clans over access to water and other resources. This fall an outbreak of violence in Galkayo killed at least 30 people and displaced hundreds.</p>
<p>Somalia is awash with weapons and violence. In addition to an insurgency led by Al Shabab, one of Africa&rsquo;s most fearsome militant Islamist groups, the country is beset by widespread piracy and kidnapping.</p>
<p>Galkayo is an important livestock and business center. The town has seen its population grow as rudimentary camps have sprung up to house those fleeing famine and fighting. This woman fled clan fighting in Mudug.</p>
<p>Hamdi Hussein Hassan, 32, lost her husband and two children when a mortar shell hit her house in Mogadishu. The country&rsquo;s capital sees frequent clashes between Al Shabab and African Union peacekeeping forces. She fled to Galkayo with her surviving daughter, left paralyzed by the blast, and now lives in a small shelter made from sticks and cardboard.</p>
<p>The drought in Somalia and East Africa has been exacerbated by fighting and by aid workers&#39; lack of access to much of southern Somalia. Here, children fetch water at a tap installed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the village of Darssalam in central Somalia.</p>
<p>Women fetch water at an IRC-drilled well. The IRC is building and repairing wells, hand pumps and pipelines in Somalia&rsquo;s Mudug region, as well as training community volunteers in hygiene.</p>
<p>The drought has devastated livestock, a catastrophe for people who are mainly pastoralists and derive their income from animals. To prevent further losses, the IRC has built water troughs for animals and vaccinated and de-wormed some 35,000 livestock.</p>
<p>IRC workers de-worm goats in Do&rsquo;ol village.</p>
<p>Abdi Hussein Farah, 40, lost more than 100 goats in the drought. After trekking through the desert with his few remaining animals he built a shelter near the village of Do&rsquo;ol. &ldquo;I have only a few goats left now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Here, they have a better chance of survival.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Salado Ali Salat, 35, is one of hundreds of displaced Somalis who have received goats from the IRC.</p>
<p>With no end in sight to Somalia&rsquo;s civil conflict, the effects of the drought are expected to last into 2012 and beyond. &ldquo;The situation in Somalia is probably the largest catastrophe in the world at the moment,&rdquo; says Prafulla Mishra, the IRC&rsquo;s Somalia director.</p>

Famine in Somalia

Horn of Africa Drought, Somalia
11.17.2011

The IRC is providing livestock, water and food to tens of thousands of people in Somalia who have fled the country’s most devastating drought and famine in 60 years.

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Torbertha Torbor addresses the audience at the IRC's 2011 Freedom Award Dinner
A view of the room at the IRCs annual Freedom Award Dinner
<p>David Letterman tosses off a few one-liners while paying tribute to his friend Tom Brokaw and the rest of the Brokaw family, who were honored with the Freedom Award at the dinner.</p>

Freedom Award Dinner 2011

Events, United States, US - New York, HQ
11.16.2011

On November 9, 2011 the International Rescue Committee presented the IRC Freedom Award to Tom Brokaw and his family for their humanitarian efforts. The award dinner, held at New York's Waldof-Astoria, featured special guests John Legend, David Letterman and General Colin Powell. David Gregory of "Meet the Press" served as Master of Ceremonies. 

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Severly malnoutished baby Minhaj Gedi Farah
<p>Minhaj, two months after leaving the hospital. He&#39;s the picture of health at more than 17 pounds (8 kilos) -- nearly normal for a boy his age.</p>
<p>When Minhaj first arrived at the hospital, he was not only malnourished but also severely&nbsp; anemic.&nbsp; It took three life-saving blood transfusions and weeks of intensive feeding with Plumpy&rsquo;nut, a vitamin-enriched peanut paste, before his condition stabilized and he could be released.&nbsp; Afterward, Minhaj was treated for tuberculosis in an IRC outpatient program.</p>
Minhaj with his mother, Assiyah Dagane Osman, in the IRC hospital
Minhaj with his mother, Assiyah Dagane Osman
Dr. John Kiogora holds baby Minhaj outside the IRC's Dadaab hospital
Minhaj with IRC nutrition nurse Sirat Amin.

Baby Minhaj: Face of hope amid famine

Kenya
11.11.2011

In refugee camps in Dadaab, northeastern Kenya, the IRC aids Somalis who have fled a devastating drought and gives fortified food to malnourished young children. One of these children —  skeletal seven-month-old Minhaj Gedi Farah — became the face of the famine for millions who followed his progress in the news. Today, three months after leaving the IRC's hospital, the chubby-cheeked little boy has become a face of hope amid the crisis.

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A young refugee woman stands in front of an American flag
The IRC supports Burmese refugees on Thai border with services, resettlement
The IRC and UNHCR support other refugees who move to cities like Kuala Lumpur
IRC, UNHCR help refugees register and apply to resettle; most won't be able to
Resettlement Support Centers help refugees prepare paperwork and for their move
The IRC gives practical advice to refugees heading to the United States
The IRC tells refugees what to pack, how they will arrive in the United States
A Burmese family waited for two years to resettle, they will move to Indiana
The IRC helps the family receive medical care before they leave for the U.S.
The refugees wait at UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur for a bus to the airport
The Burmese refugee family sleeps during the long trip to the United States
They board a plane to the United States; the IRC will greet the refugees

Bound for America

Resettlement, Thailand
10.26.2011

Every year, the United States resettles tens of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable refugees. The preparations for resettlement are made by a Resettlement Support Center in the refugee’s country of asylum. In Bangkok, Thailand, the International Rescue Committee runs the Resettlement Support Center for East Asia, assisting refugees living in Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Vietnam and other countries in the region. 

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Burmese refugees check in for a flight to the U.S.;the IRC will resettle them
Ismail Arafat is stamped out of the country by Malaysian immigration.
Burmese refugees resettled by the IRC, in the new home, Salt Lake City

"Life is good here"

US - Salt Lake City, UT
10.26.2011

Ismail Arafat and Safirah Omar's refugee journey began in 2003 when they left their conflict-ridden native country of Myanmar for neighboring Thailand. From there smugglers transported them south to Malaysia. The IRC helped the young couple resettle in the United States with their baby daughter. "Life is good here," Ismail says. 

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A man walks flooded streets in Bangkok, Thailand; IRC protects Burmese refugees
Women use makeshift boat in flooded Bangkok, Thailand; IRC provides clean water
A man on flooded street in Bangkok, Thailand; IRC works with Thai government
Burmese refugees take shelter in a flooded building in Thailand
IRC staff directs Burmese refugees to food, clean water in flooded Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand flooded, the IRC protects vulnerable refugees, migrant workers

Thailand floods

Thailand
10.25.2011

As flood waters rise in Thailand, Burmese refugees and migrant workers are especially vulnerable. The IRC is working with the Thai government to ensure this marginalized community has access to shelter, clean water, food and other basic services.

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Ashley Judd and Jeff Gordon visit a women’s association
Women welcome Ashley Judd and Jeff Gordon with traditional dances
Women in DRC show NFL Myron Rolle how they harvest, sort crops
Entrepreneur Jounghoon Lee visited Nkanga, where the IRC in DRC runs Tuungane
Women in DRC use new water pump, which allow them to safely, quickly fetch water
Guests and hosts discuss future IRC programs in Democratic Republic of Congo

The IRC hosts Clinton Global Initiative celebrity guests

Post conflict, D.R. Congo
09.15.2011

The IRC recently hosted a Clinton Global Initiative delegation to the South Kivu Province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Our guests visited several IRC programs and learned about the challenges that individuals and communities face in this severely conflict-affected region.

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Children are transfixed as they watch their capoeira teacher
Palestinian students play the Brazilian berimbau
Professor Arame captivates his young students at a Bedouin camp in the West B
Professor Arame at a recreational center in the West Bank performs capoeira wi
Girls have a physical warm up prior to playing capoeira
Capoeira is played in a circle (called a roda)
Two young Iraqi girls smile as they play capoeira in a refugee camp in Syria

Bidna Capoeira

Education, West Bank and Gaza Strip
09.13.2011

The IRC is partnering with the UK-based charity Bidna Capoeira to teach capoeira — a challenging Afro-Brazilian sport and art form  — to at-risk children in West Bank refugee camps and schools. Proponents say it engenders a positive philosophy and outlook on life—one that is based on respect for the self and others.

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