International Rescue Committee (IRC)

Photo Essays

Some of the 8,000 goats the IRC is distributing to flood-afflicted families in P
For much of August, some 300 goats were distributed daily- one per family. The g
The goats were quarantined and vaccinated prior to the distribution, to ensure t
Men, women and children stood in line for their goat. The priority families were
Pakistan has one of the world's largest populations of goats, with an estimated
A goat heads off to its new home in a seat of importance between its owners, in

8,000 goats

Pakistan Floods, Pakistan
08.31.2011

The IRC is helping flood-afflicted farming families in Pakistan’s Sindh province, one goat at a time. Many lost all their belongings, their crops, and their livestock in last year’s devastating floods.  Pi James, the IRC’s communications coordinator for our Pakistan programs, recently visited Sindh, while the IRC was coordinating a massive distribution of 8,000 goats.  Here are some of her photos.

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IRC staff in Kenya treats a child for malnutrition, dehydration during drought
The IRC gives nutrition, immunizations to women and their babies in Kenya
A man teaches about HIV/AIDS in Kenya, provides testing and antiretroviral drugs
A child pumps clean water in Kenya; the IRC prevents disease, dehydration
Women sit together, part of IRC's help with medicine, legal advice, protection
The IRC in Kenya protects children through education, security and advocacy
A woman urban refugee that the IRC supports with education, safety, jobs
Students sit in an adult education class; the IRC helps them learn to find work
A woman in her sewing shop; the IRC helps people find work, start businesses

Inside our work in Kenya

Kenya
08.16.2011

Kenya is home to hundreds of thousands of refugees, and the IRC supports them and native Kenyans with clean water, health care and protection during emergencies, and with job training and education on legal rights and protections.

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New Roots, the IRC’s nationwide gardening, micro-enterprise
Uzakboy Djuraev, 42, a refugee from Uzbekistan, works his plot at a New Roots
Kyi Hser, 27, a Burmese refugee, feeds calves at Threemile Canyon Farms
The IRC provides refugees like Puspa Lal Regmi with agricultural training
Bossn Gumaa, a refugee from Sudan, feels at home working at a goat farm
New Roots helps newly-arrived refugees
Bhagiratha Bhattarai, a Bhutanese refugee who arrived in Salt Lake City a year a
Many refugees were farmers in their native countries, says Anchi Mei
Until recently, the San Diego New Roots community farm was a vacant lot
Refugees sell produce grown by fellow refugees at a farmers' market
In the Pauma valley near San Diego, a group of Somali Bantu women meet
Shukri Egal, 17, from Somalia, is participating in an IRC after-school program
The New York City New Roots program is located in the South Bronx

New Roots

New Roots, United States
08.16.2011

When refugees arrive in the United States, they have left everything familiar behind. The IRC's New Roots program brings refugees together to share experiences and feel a connection to their new home through community gardening and nutrition and micro-enterprise programs.

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Kitchen Supplies
computer literacy
college visit
youth tutoring
employment counseling
Women's literacy
financial literacy

Freedom Fete 2011

US - Atlanta, GA
08.12.2011

Your gift to the IRC in Atlanta's 2011 Freedom Fete will directly fund the IRC in Atlanta's work creating opportunities for refugee to thrive in America.

 

Whether you buy a virtual ticket or two or choose to give at our auction,  or both, your attendance at Freedom Fete will make a powerful difference in the lives of refugees we are resettling today.

 

The photos that follow illustrate how your donation can help the IRC in Atlanta's programs.

 

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Men drive in a flooded street in Pakistan; IRC is rebuilding infrastructure
Men unload emergency supplies like food, hygiene kits after floods in Pakistan
A man carries materials, part of IRC Cash for Work program to rebuild roads
Children stand in a refugee camp where IRC provides water, hygiene, health care
A baby receives medical care; the IRC prevents and treats diseases like malaria
A girl in school; the IRC rebuilds schools that were damaged in the flood
IRC helps people who lost identification and documents in the flood
A boy stands in his sewing shop; the IRC trains people for good jobs to make mon
Pakistani men hold tickets for seeds, livestock, part of IRC livelihood program

Inside our work in Pakistan

Pakistan Floods, Pakistan
08.11.2011

The IRC has worked in Pakistan for over 30 years, providing health care, education, job training and other essential services. In 2010, the IRC reacted within hours to the monsoon flooding that left more than a fifth of the country inundated and continues to help Pakistan recover and rebuild.

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Women in a community peace committee meet, part of IRC peace program in Uganda
IRC staff shares message of empowering women in the community in Uganda
Girls carry loads on deserted road; IRC protects women and girls from violence
A boy with livestock; the IRC supports farmers to improve business and yield
The IRC helps small businesses, like this mechanic, and farmers get loans
IRC health staff gives medicine to children, treating common childhood diseases
Children pump clean water; the IRC educates about hygiene, clean water
This boy & thousands of others miss school to work; IRC puts children in school
Children attend school; the IRC renovates school buildings and trains teachers
Youth work in a woodshop, part of IRC job training and apprenticeship programs

Inside our work in Uganda

Uganda
08.09.2011

The IRC helps Ugandans as they recover from conflict by encouraging peaceful community participation. The IRC is also providing vital services like health care, clean water and helping Ugandans look ahead with quality education, job training and financial support.

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<p>More than 1,300 Somali refugees arrive daily at the already overcrowded Dadaab camp in Kenya. The IRC has helped to establish reception centers where newly arrived refugees receive food, health screenings and medical referrals. Here, people gather outside the fence at one of the reception centers waiting to be admitted.</p>
<p>Many refugees arrive in Dadaab with nothing, stripped of even their clothes by militant groups or bandits who roam the area near the Kenya-Somalia border.</p>
<p>The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that about 40 percent of the Somali refugee children arriving at Dadaab are malnourished. Once they are identified as such, the children are rushed to the IRC&rsquo;s stabilization center, part of the IRC-run hospital in Hagadera, one of three sites that make up the sprawling Dadaab refugee camp. There they receive fortified food and medical care.</p>
<p>Minhaj Gedi Farahi, who is seven months old, arrived at the stabilization center weighing only six and a half pounds (three kilos) and on the brink of death. &ldquo;After a week&rsquo;s care he has gained 400 grams (almost a pound), which is a remarkable improvement,&rdquo; said the IRC&rsquo;s Dr. John Kigora. &ldquo;Against all odds, he will survive.&quot;</p>
<p>One-year-old Abdirahman Mohamed is in critical condition. Dr. Kigora and his colleagues constantly monitor the child, who is suffering from both severe malnutrition and pneumonia.</p>
<p>Halima, Abdirahman&#39;s mother, said the drought killed all her family&rsquo;s livestock&mdash;10 cows and two goats. &ldquo;We have nothing left,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We have nothing to return to.&nbsp; I&rsquo;m scared about the future.&quot;</p>
<p>At the Hagadera stabilization center, acutely malnourished children, infants, pregnant women and new mothers receive food fortified with micronutrients.</p>
<p>Abdallah Ibrahim Jare and his family walked for 25 days across the desert from their village in southern Somalia before reaching safety in Dadaab. The drought killed their crops and animals, leaving them with no food for the journey. Abdallah&rsquo;s wife died of fatigue and starvation along the way.</p>
<p>When Abdallah&rsquo;s son, three-year-old Aden Abdile Ibrahim, arrived in Dadaab, he weighed only 11 pounds (five kilos). An average three-year old boy should weigh around 30 pounds (15 kilos). After a week of treatment in the IRC stabilization center Aden has gained two pounds and is on his way to recovery.</p>
<p>Outbreaks of disease are a significant risk in Dadaab, which hosts four times the population it was built for. In response, aid groups this week launched a mass vaccination campaign against polio and measles.</p>
<p>Every morning infants are weighed and measured in the stabilization center to chart their recovery. Bashir Halane, an IRC nutritionist, checks a baby who has gained weight over the last few days.</p>
<p>Hussein Abdullahi, an IRC nurse&rsquo;s assistant (left), and nutritionist Ismail Hussein Omar, measure a refugee girl at the stabilization center.</p>
<p>One-and-a-half year old Abdi Awow Abdullah is being discharged from the stabilization center only six days after he arrived in critical condition. &ldquo;He has come back to life,&rdquo; the IRC&rsquo;s Dr. John Kigora said.</p>

A lifeline in the desert

Horn of Africa Drought, Africa, Kenya
08.02.2011

Every day hungry, exhausted, and desperately ill Somali refugees and their children are brought to an IRC-run field hospital in the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya. The IRC’s Peter Biro reports on how the refugees are being nursed back to life and health.

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Somalis, livestock rest in the shade to escape heat, drought, IRC brings relief
Women fill jugs with clean water; the IRC provides water to alleviate drought
A man gives water to livestock; the IRC promotes sanitation, prevents disease
The IRC helps vulnerable women, children, families affected by drought, famine
The IRC helps farmers keep livestock healthy and provides Cash for Work
IRC staff with Somali family, the IRC prioritizes projects with local authoritie
Somali refugees in Dadaab, Kenya; the IRC provides emergency health care

Inside our work in Somalia

Somalia
08.02.2011

Somalia faces systemic conflict and poverty and now is struggling to recover from the effects of widespread famine that ravaged the region in 2011. After stepping up its services to address this emergency, the IRC is continuing to provide essential services and promote development.

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A teacher helps a student in a school, part of an IRC education program
<p>The IRC raises awareness of the importance of girls regularly attending school and makes sure they have equal access to education. For example, by distributing sanitary napkins and underwear to teenage girls, they feel more comfortable going to school and attendance has increased dramatically.</p>
Young children sit together; the IRC protects them from disease, hunger
A child eats a healthy meal, part of IRC's efforts to provide health care
Women collect clean water from a source and learn about sanitation
A farmer with his donkey, benefitting from IRC economic, agriculture programs
A community meets together; the IRC encourages participation in development
IRC staff uses technology to survey Ethiopia to provide efficient programs

Inside our work in Ethiopia

Ethiopia
07.28.2011

The IRC is in Ethiopia helping refugees and local residents to stay safe, make a living and gain access to education, clean water and health care.

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Fatuma and her family stand outside a building at Dadaab refugee camp
Refugees sit on the ground under trees outside one of Dadaab's reception centers
An elderly woman, Habiba, at the Dadaabd refugee camp reception center
Beniye Issa holds her baby daughter
A severly malnourished baby is held in a woman's arms

Fleeing the Drought

Horn of Africa Drought, Africa, Kenya
07.15.2011

 At least 1,200 refugees are arriving at Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya every day from drought-stricken Somalia. They are exhausted and hungry.  Most have lost everything they owned and many have sold whatever they had left to pay for the bus or car fare.  The IRC's Sophia Jones-Mwangi tells their stories.

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