IRC Blog Feed

Calling for help

The.IRC — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:50:03 +0000

Photo: Anne Edgerton, OCHA

Stories of horrific violence in Congo are all too common; however, there are even more attacks—especially on women and children—that we don’t hear about. Learn how an IRC-affiliated program is using cell phones to connect those who have experienced violence with those who can help them.

Stories of horrific violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo are all too common; however, there are even more attacks — especially on women and children — that we don’t hear about. Villages, especially in the eastern provinces, are often raided by armed groups. Women and girls are raped and need immediate medical assistance; but health facilities are scarce. Boys and girls are abducted to be used as soldiers or porters. Girls are taken to be cooks and wives.

In Iraq, keeping kids safe in school

Heather Hansen — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:47:34 +0000

Iraqi students learning much more than the "3 Rs" with the IRC

Photo: The IRC

ERBIL, Iraq

Education is the right of every child – but for children in countries recovering from war or natural disaster, it is far more than that. It's also a chance for them to heal. That's why the IRC works to promote safer schools and help educators respond to cases of violence and abuse.

Education is the right of every child – but for children in countries recovering from war or natural disaster, it is far more than that. In my work with the International Rescue Committee, I have seen time and time again that the sooner children return to school after a crisis, the sooner they can recover from trauma and regain a sense of normalcy in their lives. School is not only a place where children learn, but a place where they can grow, develop and heal.

This Week's Voices: "We cannot abandon the people of South Sudan"

The.IRC — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:05:21 +0000

Photo: Peter Biro/IRC

Sir John Holmes on threats to South Sudan that may force aid agencies to switch their programs away from development and back to emergency humanitarian aid ... plus other notable quotes touching on the IRC's work around the world.

From a refugee camp to American Idol

The.IRC — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:12 +0000

Big congratulations to Romeo Diahn: The 22-year-old from Liberia — who fled a bloody civil war, endured life in a refugee camp, and then started over in Oregon— is now on his way to Hollywood and the next stage of the American Idol competition.

Facing a ‘perfect storm’ in South Sudan

The.IRC — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:02:03 +0000

Photo: Christopher Scott/IRC

Sir John Holmes warns in the Huffington Post that the world's newest country -- South Sudan -- faces a ‘perfect storm’ of unresolved issues with Sudan, tribal clashes, growing violence along its northern border, and a new food crisis.

Between 2007 and 2010, Sir John Holmes – then UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs – visited Southern Sudan three times as it struggled toward independence amid problems of conflict, lack of capacity and food insecurity.

Quoted: The recession's impact on refugees

The.IRC — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:57:03 +0000

An NPR report that quotes the IRC's Bob Carey focuses on a Rwandan refugee and her two young daughters to cast a wider lens on the challenges refugees are facing in this tough economy.

'The recession has complicated the hard task of refugee resettlement nationwide.

Photo Share: Dancing across a bridge

The.IRC — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:38:57 +0000

Photo: Edmore Mahlupeka/IRC

MUTARE, Zimbabwe

A girl dances across a new footbridge in the rural Mutare district of eastern Zimbabwe. Before the bridge was built, local children had to wade across the river to get to school -- a dangerous trip when the water level was high.

A girl dances across a new footbridge in the rural Mutare district of eastern Zimbabwe. With the old bridge damaged beyond repair, and the closest safe crossing miles away, local children once had to wade across the river to go to school – a dangerous or even impossible trip during the rainy season when the water level is high. Recently, one man drowned and a child almost died while trying to cross through swift currents.

“The New Kids”

The.IRC — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:58:08 +0000

This afternoon Brooke Hauser, author of “The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens,” visited our New York headquarters for a discussion about the challenges young refugees must overcome in their new lives in America.

This afternoon we were delighted to welcome journalist and author Brooke Hauser to the International Rescue Committee's headquarters office in New York. Hauser's first book, “The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens,” chronicles a year in the life of five students at the International High School in Brooklyn, NY.

This Week's Voices: Heroes in the midst of crisis

The.IRC — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:35:09 +0000

Photo: IRC

IRC president George Rupp on We Can Be Heroes, a two-year campaign to help the people of the drought-ravaged Horn and East Africa ... plus other notable quotes touching on the IRC's work around the world.

Photo Share: Homework help, Sierra Leone

The.IRC — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:14:07 +0000

Photo: Aubrey Wade/IRC

KORANKO, Sierra Leone

Helping boys with their homework after school in the Kenema district of southeastern Sierra Leone. The IRC and our local partners raise awareness of the dangers of child labor and the importance of education.

Helping boys with their homework after school in the Kenema district of southeastern Sierra Leone. Through collaboration with child welfare groups, the International Rescue Committee raises awareness of the dangers of child labor and the importance of education. Since 2005, we have helped over 14,000 children escape or avoid exploitation by providing school materials, uniforms and tuition vouchers as well as job training.