In Ukraine, helping young minds to thrive again
The soldiers at the fifth military checkpoint of the morning wave us on. We finally enter Hranitne. The village lies sandwiched between the Ukrainian military on one side and armed groups of the...
View ArticleThe white rose of Syria
“I will return to my home, love will return,” Ansam’s melodic voice reverberates around a packed Damascus opera house. The audience is transfixed by the 10-year-old’s singing and the harmony of the...
View ArticleLife on the edge in eastern Ukraine
“My cats eyes were so wide, he was also very afraid,” Diana tells us matter of factly. The 10-year-old is explaining what happened during a recent day of intense shelling in Avdiivka, her hometown on...
View ArticleBeing a ‘Super Dad’ when life is turned upside down
“I have three kids whom I have to put on their feet; I want them to live happily and to prosper in their future,” Andrii, 35, tells me. It’s a goal that most parents share, but for Andrii one that...
View ArticleChildren of Za’atari refugee camp, five years on
“I was a little girl when I came from Syria, I was 11 years old and just thinking about toys; now I have grown up,” says Omaima, as the 16 year old reflects on her time in Za’atari, nearly one third of...
View ArticleBringing learning to life for Afghan girls
Belqees always dreamt of going to school. “My friends would come back to the village and talk about school, what they had been doing,” the 16-year old says. “I felt like, they are my friends, why am I...
View ArticleGaza: Learning in the shadow of conflict
“I feel good about finishing my exams, a feeling of success that a difficult time has passed,” Mohammad tells me in the schoolyard. The 18-year old from Gaza City just walked out of his final Tawjihi...
View ArticleTragedy and hope across Mindanao
The drive alongside lake Lanao is idyllic. Surrounded on one side by the lush greenery of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao and on the other by the vast ocean-like expanse that forms the...
View ArticleAs 2019 ends, hope and survival on Ukraine’s frontline
“It’s calm now, but be ready to leave at any time,” come the instructions over the car radio. We’re driving east, through heavy snow, towards the mining settlement of Zolote 3, on the frontline of east...
View Article
