Since January 1, more than 85,000 Syrians have fled to Jordan for refuge. In one night alone, more than 3,000 people crossed the border - over 250 people per hour and more than 4 people every single minute, each person carrying with them a unique story and a new set of urgent needs.
With these newest arrivals, Jordan’s estimated refugee population of 400,000 continues to grow. Half of this population is unregistered, some are unfed, some entirely off-grid, and most living off of the fumes and sputters of exhausted hope.
Zoom out from Jordan and you find similar numbers in Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq, bringing the total to nearly one million refugees. One million people, who must try to balance coping with restoration amidst the strife of displacement and ongoing losses.
Syria itself has a shifting population of nearly 2,000,000 displaced people within its borders who have taken refuge in government shelters, schools, abandoned buildings, and the homes of distant relatives. In areas hardest hit by the conflict, medicine is in short supply, infrastructure continues to crumble, and schools are unusable because of the need to provide housing for newly homeless families.
In the ashes, Questscope sees renewal. As we move forward in both Jordan and Syria, numbers of displaced may continue to climb, but so will our efforts. From education to winter items to shelter reconstruction to medical referrals to counseling, Questscope and its partners are putting the last, the displaced and desperate, first.