From packed classrooms to indefinite school closures, COVID-19 has undoubtedly impacted the lives of school children all around the world. Parents and teachers have been scrambling to work out solutions to keep kids learning during these turbulent times.

Shaimah is 15 years old and has been living in the Cherso refugee camp in Northern Greece for over six months with her aunt and uncle. Living in constant uncertainty, her wish for the future is simple.

After meeting on the IRC's leadership course, Halyna and Masoma have developed a wonderful friendship where they continue to support one another to integrate in the UK. They are now hoping to expand their support to other refugees in London and around the world.

Dalal, 18, wears her best dress, green dotted with tarnished gold beads. She and her friends sit close together on the concrete floor of a tent in a temporary settlement in Akkar, Lebanon, not far from the Syrian border.

In 1984, Raesa,* just 14 years old, left her family in Jordan and moved to Syria with her husband to start a new life. When civil war broke out 28 years later, Raesa was forced to flee with her children, triplets, and seek refuge back in her own country.“We left Syria through the village of Tell Shihab and went to Ramtha [in Jordan]”, Raesa says, who is now the sole breadwinner for her family. Her husband decided to stay behind with his second wife and their family.

Six months on from the beginning of the conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia, these women share their stories of fleeing the violence and finding safety in Sudan.