EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Visits ICMC-run Project in Jordan

EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Visits ICMC-run Project in Jordan
EU Commissioner Christos Stylianides with the children of the family visited in Mafraq. Photo: ECHO/Abdo Ahmad

As part of an official visit to Jordan, the European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides visited yesterday a project managed by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) in Northern Jordan and funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO).

EU Commissioner Christos Stylianides was accompanied by a large delegation of representatives from ECHO, the ECHO-funded winterization NGO consortium (composed of INTERSOS, Save the Children Jordan, the Norwegian Refugee Council, and ICMC), and a large group of journalists from key media outlets, including Reuters, Al Jazeera, Radio France, and The Times, among others.

The delegation visited a Syrian family currently living in Mafraq, in Northern Jordan. The household consists of 12 people in total: 2 women and 10 children. Two of these children are unable to attend school as they are working part-time to help support the family. The women, two sisters from Homs, arrived in Jordan around a year and a half ago and take part in literacy classes at the ICMC-run Protection Center in Mafraq.

One of the two sisters said: “If we can’t have our basic needs fully covered in Jordan, of course we will try to find our way to Europe. We are very thankful to ICMC for the help provided. Both the rent assistance and the literacy classes are very useful in our situation. We will be using the cash assistance we receive in November to buy a heater, so that we can keep the family warm during the upcoming winter”.

During the visit, the EU Commissioner Christos Stylianides announced that the European Commission will give €28 million in humanitarian aid to support Syrians displaced by the conflict in their host communities in Jordan. He said: “The coming winter will bring additional hardship to the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in Jordan so we are stepping up our humanitarian aid. The funding will help cover basic needs of refugees and host communities such as health care, clean water, shelter, rent and education.”


About ICMC in Jordan

ICMC started to respond to the Syrian refugee crisis in March 2012, when it initiated an emergency intervention project in Northern Jordan, by assisting extremely vulnerable Syrian households with rental payments. Since then – and thanks to the generosity of its donors, which include the EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO), the US Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (BPRM), and the Jordan Humanitarian Pool Fund (JHRP) managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – ICMC has progressively scaled up its response and has provided critical assistance to Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians.

ICMC also runs a Protection Center in Mafraq, an urban area densely populated by Syrian refugees. The Center offers protection activities and psychosocial support for Syrian refugee women and children who experience difficult living conditions. In addition, it promotes positive community relations, offering a space for Syrians and Jordanians to meet, socialize and learn together. A range of educational and recreational activities aimed at helping refugees cope with trauma and anxiety are offered at the Center.

About the ECHO-funded winterization project

A consortium of four NGOs including INTERSOS, Save the Children Jordan, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and ICMC is currently implementing an ECHO-funded project for the provision of winter assistance to camp and non-camp refugees in Jordan. As part of this project, ICMC will provide cash assistance to more than 2,800 households in the urban areas of Mafraq, Jerash, and Ajloun to allow Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanian families to meet their basic needs during the cold winter months. The NGOs Consortium plans to provide life-saving winter assistance to more than 120,000 individuals, including over 70,000 children.

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ICMC provides assistance and protection to vulnerable people on the move and advocates for sustainable solutions for refugees and migrants.