Dr. Edna Patricia Gomez is a gynecologist who works for the International Rescue Committee in Cúcuta, Colombia. She left Venezuela in 2018 with her family as the country spiraled into a profound socio-economic crisis. Today, Dr. Edna helps other Venezuelans in Colombia with screening and treatment for the coronavirus, while also providing women's health services. "Medicine is the best," she says of her profession. "It’s hopeful.

Rania Abou is a 19-year-old refugee from Syria living in Roselle, New Jersey. An artist who dreams of becoming an engineer, she is currently working for the International Rescue Committee and World Central Kitchen in Elizabeth, New Jersey, helping give out food to people in need. “In the future, somebody will help me. It's like a circle.

Twenty-four-year-old Doha Ibrahim Ammouri, a refugee from Syria, lives in Azraq refugee camp in Jordan with her husband and children. She volunteers as a receptionist in the International Rescue Committee’s reproductive health clinic in the camp. Despite a national coronavirus lockdown in Jordan, Doha and her colleagues continue to provide essential medical care—safely.

Twenty-one-year-old Yasmin Ara is a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar living in Cox’s Bazar, in Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee camp. As a community volunteer for the International Rescue Committee, she goes door-to-door to raise awareness about protection from the coronavirus. “Rohingya people help others as much as possible,” she says. Learn more about the essential contributions of refugees like Yasmin—during COVID-19 and beyond. 

Anxhela is a refugee from Albania and, as a junior doctor with the UK's National Health Service, is one of the thousands of refugee essential workers helping respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. "When I tell people I came to this country as a refugee," she says, "I now say it quite proudly." Read more about the contributions of refugees like Dr. Anxhela—during COVID-19 and beyond.  

We are honored that the MacArthur Foundation has selected this program as the winner of its 100&Change competition, a one-time $100 million grant to "make measurable progress toward solving a significant problem of our time." This award allows the IRC and Sesame Street to create what will be the largest early childhood intervention in the history of humanitarian response.

In a 1957 short film, actor Marlon Brando urges viewers to assist refugees fleeing the Hungarian Revolution by making a donation to the International Rescue Committee.

The Bazara family from Aleppo, Syria were reunited at Sea-Tac International Airport on Feb. 9 after three family members were banned from entering due to President Trump's executive order. Read their full story.

The war against Boko Haram, the world's deadliest terror group, has created massive displacement and famine-like conditions for 14.8 million people in northeastern Nigeria. Some 5.1 million people don't have access to sufficient food, and 2.8 million children are severely malnourished. If nothing changes, more than 200 children will die each day. This crisis is man-made, but the solutions are too.

Evidence shows that refugees are good for the economies that host them. Barri Shorey, a senior technical advisor at the International Rescue Committee, explains why.