“This is the first time I make a candle with my own hands. I’ll light it in the darkness of the night in the hope it’ll protect my family and keep it safe.”

This is what a woman said during the recreational series sessions conducted by the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD) team at the Nabd Center, Behm Camps, Sweida, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in the context of the Child Protection Programme.

The series included teaching children, adolescents and caregivers how to make candles, color them and pour them into molds designated for this purpose, as well as how to use and light them to meet their need in obtaining simple light at night to ensure their safety while they are in

the tents. At the conclusion of the session, an adolescent said:

“I love the light of the candle a lot. I made it in the shape of a heart to offer it to my mother to express my great love to her.”

“When young children died, they were working in the land. We didn’t understand why and how. They told us they died because of a strange object they found on the ground. When you came here, however, and we saw what are the objects that could harm us and our parents, we believe we must get cautious, pay more attention to protect ourselves.”

This is what an adolescent boy said during the campaign conducted by the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD), in cooperation

with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), under the title Mine and ERW Awareness, conducted at the Nabd Community Center, Behm Camps, Sweida.

Throughout the session, types, hazards, and disastrous effects of ERW/UXO have been duly explained, as well as how to protect children from them: being aware of warning signs, safe conduct, emergency situations – in addition to emphasizing reporting to the toll-free number (108) designated by the Ministry of Interior for that purpose.

SSSD facilitators also insisted on the necessity of delivering and instilling awareness messages, thus raising the level of ERW awareness, in order to protect our children and ensure a healthy, safe and injury-free society.

At the end of the session, one of the children said: “I thought it was merely a strange toy I could play and have fun with. I didn’t know it could cause my death!”

“It’s been ages since I last held a book or played a game... Our days are spent in work on farmlands and projects... The campaign reminded me that I should play, learn and steal these precious moments in our young life.”

This is what an adolescent girl shared with us at the end of the campaign “A Child’s Book and Play Are Their Only Concern,” carried out by the team of Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD), in cooperation with the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), CP Department, through networking with the Education Programme in the camps of the village of Qaisma and Behm, Salkhad, Sweida.

Through the campaign, we shed light on the risks of child labor, educating children about its causes and psychological and physical effects, and developing proposals to mitigate its risks.

 We also emphasized the importance of children protecting themselves against work hazards, while emphasizing the importance of education and the necessity to resume it through the Accelerated Education Programme.

In conclusion, an adolescent boy said: “Today we played a very nice game which we enjoyed so much. At the same time, it pointed out several important things that we must learn to be able to benefit from our knowledge in days to come.”

“The street is a double-edged sword, it is fun to play in but, at the same time, it may contain risks and people we shouldn’t meet,” said an adolescent girl during the awareness session carried out by the SSSD Child Protection Club, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at the Nabd Community Center in Salkhad, Sweida.

The session discussed the risks of playing on the street and its negative effects on adolescents.

It also gave clues to safe playing and designated places for teens to play in, using the street play “risk bar” and explaining the “tree of causes” of behaviors resulting from street playing.

At the end of the session, an adolescent boy said: “I liked the safe space so much, as I was able to play and learn in it, safely and without fear, unlike my playing on the street.”

“I’m thrilled I learned ways to integrate my brother with the rest of the kids,” said an adolescent girl who participated in the awareness sessions campaign carried out by the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD), in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), under the title I Belong to You, all conducted at the Nabd Community Center in Salkhad, Sweida.

Sessions have been seasoned with a series of recreational activities for children and adolescents that embody the content of the campaign, namely to integrate people with disabilities with normal people in the community.

At the end of a session, an adolescent boy said: “I used to hear terms like ‘people with disabilities’ and ‘people with special needs’, not knowing the difference, thinking they were identical! After the sessions, however, I learned something new that enabled me to distinguish between the two terms.”