Meet Nasro, a 17 year old who considers herself to be one of the bravest girls in the world. Her story is the inspiration for the short film Brave Girl Rising, produced by the nonprofit organisation Girl Rising in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee.

Last summer, militants attacked the Yazidi people of Sinjar in northwestern Iraq. The International Rescue Committeerecently traveled through northern Iraq to document this forgotten humanitarian crisis.

Engaging girls is important – to reduce their exposure to harm and to expand the vital role they can play in shaping their own lives and communities. This is the reason the International Rescue Committee brings together groups of girls to explore their power and potential and cultivate essential skills.

A group of fifteen women huddle around a stove in a brightly painted room in the Bekaa valley in the east of Lebanon. On the walls are messages of hope. Despite the plummeting temperatures, these women have made the journey to the International Rescue Committee’s women’s centre to participate in a somewhat unusual activity. They will join 'Hala' on her way to work, through the medium of a comic book.

As thousands of refugees are stranded or risking their lives trying to transit through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary in extremely cold weather, the International Rescue Committee and its partners in Serbia are providing winter relief, including clothing, medicine and other emergency aid in some of the most challenging locations.