Ration Challenge

Bringing hope and comfort to refugees in Jordan with over $2.3 million raised

Last November, I travelled to Jordan to see Act for Peace’s work with Syrian families living in urban refugee camps. These were mothers, fathers and small children who’d been living normal lives and then suddenly lost everything – their homes, belongings, people they love – and found themselves strangers in a foreign country, cold, hungry and alone.

I saw the terrible conditions they were now living in and their desperate need for food and medical care. But more than that, I felt the pain they were suffering as they described the horrors they had fled from. A family told me how they’d run from their house in the night as bombs flew towards them, a woman explained how she’d lost her sister and unborn child and two young boys, Fathi and Majdi, described how they had lost their dad. I was deeply saddened to see families who had already suffered so much living in such desperate conditions.

But despite all that I saw, I still had hope.

A refugee receives urgently needed food rations at the camp distribution in June, made possible by your support and determination.

I had hope because I knew there was a growing community of people back in Australia who were willing to stand up and show Syrian refugees living in Jordan, and other displaced people around the globe, that there are people in this world who still care about them – by taking the Act for Peace Ration Challenge.

By putting themselves in the shoes of refugees, these courageous people raised over $2 million, which is now helping to deliver desperately needed food rations to families who were going hungry, provide counselling services for people traumatised by the war and give Syrian refugee children the chance of an education and a safe environment to learn and play. 

The response was so incredible, our partner on the ground was able to distribute extra food rations right away, and a few weeks ago I travelled back to Jordan to see the difference the funds are making in the camps. I watched as volunteer staff placed packages of emergency food rations into the hands of families in need, and visited the children’s forums where Syrian refugee kids were making friends and participating in classroom activities, a glimmer of normality in their broken lives

A refugee receives urgently needed food rations at the camp distribution in June, made possible by your support and determination.

I got to meet Majdi and Fathi again, the twin boys who lost their dad when they fled Syria four years ago. Majdi and Fathi have been relying on food rations for almost half their life, but their strength and resilience was inspiring. Life in a refugee camp didn’t stop the boys from smiling and laughing as they told me what they wanted to be when they grew up. Fathi told me he’s going to be a dentist, “I want to help people smile”. His brother Majdi on the other hand, dreams of being a pilot “to help people get from place to place so that they can be with their families.” 

It’s heartbreaking that children so young have already suffered through so much, but knowing that Majdi and Fahti are not going to bed hungry because of the determination of people back home makes me proud to be part of this growing Ration Challenge community. While we can’t ever truly imagine the physical, emotional, and psychological pain that refugees have gone through, we can act in solidarity with those who are struggling. Together, we are showing refugees we’re with them, not against them.

By Karen McGrath, Act for Peace staff member and Cofounder of the Ration Challenge.