For the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in refugee camps after fleeing the Middle East, the journey is far from over. Many are dealing with the traumatic after effects of war, violence, rape, the loss of family, home and belongings. There is the added trauma of living in the camps, where children often receive no education and women and girls are vulnerable to sexual exploitation and trafficking.
There are enormous efforts from the international donor community to provide support to these refugees, such as emergency aid, peace building projects, healthcare and educational programmes. Middle East Media is uniquely placed to complement these efforts through our creative media training and productions.
Serving Refugees
Middle East Media has an impressive range of creative media programmes and training, designed to give a voice to the voiceless and hope to the hopeless. We want to adapt these resources to make a difference where the need is greatest, among the refugee camps of Europe and the Middle East.
Some of the resources which could be adapted include children’s educational curriculum and animated TV programmes, our gender-based violence curriculum, media therapy and emotional intelligence training for women, and filmmaking camps for children and young people.
Blossoms Workshops
Blossoms gives a voice and inner healing to North African refugee women through psychological training and art and drama therapy, to develop their emotional intelligence and enable them to express their heartfelt needs in creative ways.
The program includes workshops and lectures, group sessions and homework. In groups, participants are encouraged to speak up, learn how to listen and effectively communicate with others. Those identified as potential future leaders in their communities are empowered through training-of-trainers sessions, to be able to provide the same training in their own communities to other women in need.
We work with Syrian and Sudanese refugee women in North Africa, as they have often lived through significant trauma and are in dire need of emotional healing and support, to work through issues such as grief, fear and forgiveness.
Life in the Desert
Life in the Desert is our 3D animated series aimed at children aged 4-14, to help them deal with loss and fear and encourage them through the examples of real Biblical heroes. Many children in the Middle East, particularly those in conflict zones, are dealing with trauma, fear, loss and grief. This series provides comfort, support and reassurance to children, as well as equipping them to deal with the difficult challenges they face.
The series follows the story of a young girl called Farah. After her mother dies, she goes to live with her father and starts to find comfort through the stories of the Bible. The series has aired on our partner's TV channels, as well as being shown on the ground in refugee camps, orphanages and impoverished communities. To date, with the help of our partner organisations, over 6,700 children in Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere in the region have been reached with our Life in the Desert series. We are currently working on episodes 21-26, to complete the two seasons, for which we are raising funds.
Life in the Desert Workshops
In partnership with a child psychologist, our North Africa team has developed a series of trauma recovery workshops to go alongside our Life in the Desert animated series. We aim to encourage traumatised children to lift their eyes to God, in whom true healing is found. We have provided training to over 250 teachers, many of whom are trauma survivors themselves, to deliver these workshops and help others like them.
