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The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic well-being and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster.
Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is at work in more than 40 countries helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. Learn more at www.rescue.org
One of the children it has helped is teenager Nour, seen here talking about her goal of becoming a lawyer in front of her peers after participating in the IRC’s Vision not Victim programme in Jordan.
The programme gives young girls the skills and support they need to build a better future for themselves.
A few years ago, Nour’s family fled Syria, among the three million who have left since the start of the civil war, navigating shelling and silent night truck rides over mountains, to seek safety in neighboring countries.
Syrian refugees have experienced trauma and loss but Syrian girls face a disproportionate amount of harassment and exploitation, from early marriage to abuse in their own homes. Many are also denied access to education.
Despite such challenges, Nour is an audacious 16-year-old, remarkable for her courage and tenacity, and because she refuses to allow hardship to define who she is. Yet Nour is one of hundreds of thousands of Syrian girls who have witnessed the atrocities of war but continue to hold on to their visions for the future.
These young women have begun to demand a space where their voices and ideas can be heard.
“When I was younger, my mother told me I’m very courageous and truthful,” Nour recalled. “I want to fight for what is right. I don’t like injustices, or violence, any sort of violence, whoever does harm to me I won’t return it.
“I am against violence. I like justice.”
