More than a center: a door to a different world

In the south of Türkiye, near the Syrian border, thousands of Syrian refugees have rebuilt their lives after fleeing the conflict that began over a decade ago. Türkiye, sharing its longest border with Syria, has generously welcomed nearly 3.2 million Syrian refugees over the years, offering them a safe haven.

But in 2023, while families were trying to heal from the burden of the conflict, a devastating earthquake struck Türkiye and Syria, affecting over 8.8 million people. The disaster reopened deep wounds for many refugee families already scarred by war, displacement, and loss.

Sara*, a 15-year-old Syrian girl living in Şanlıurfa, became too acquainted with hardships. "I have lived in Türkiye for 13 years now," Sara said. "But being a refugee has never been easy. I moved from one camp to another. I still remember the fire erupting at our last camp, how it roared through container by container, burning everything. That day was so hard. We had to move yet again to a new container camp".

In response to the urgent psychological needs in Sara’s container camp, where post trauma stress was highly present, World Vision’s Syria Response launched the LIFT Project, dedicated to supporting children and caregivers in container camps through psychosocial activities, helping them reconnect with life, heal emotionally, and find hope again.

Unable to attend school this year due to personal hardships following the earthquake, Sara found a new sense of belonging at the LIFT centre in Urfa. Here, through various psychosocial activities, she connected with her peers, discovered new passions, and even supported others.  The activities included recreational play, sports, awareness sessions, skills-building projects, parenting programmes, and direct mental health support, all integrated to promote children's emotional, social, and cognitive well-being. Activities also engage caregivers and communities to strengthen protective environments and reduce sources of stress.

Through all the impactful activities, Sara finally got the chance to heal.

Sumeyra, World Vision Syria Response’s (WVSR) project facilitator, shared how Sara transformed in just a few months; "when she first came, she was shy, scared to express herself, especially after the trauma of the earthquake. Now, Sara dreams big”, she says. “I want to go back to school next year and grow up to become a doctor,  a Paediatrician, to help kids like me everywhere.”, Sara shares. Now, she’s passionate, interactive, and full of hope. She even discovered her love for painting through the project’s art activities. "Drawing, stroke by stroke, is what truly connects me with myself. Every drop of paint feels like I'm pouring my feelings onto the paper," says Sara.

Sumeyra even shared how Sara’s Turkish is really good, and she is able to help translate Arabic when the team is working with the Syrian community, further supporting the project," she’s like one of the team members now, said Sumeryra, smiling.

Sara’s moving story is just one of many. For Hamza, a 5-year-old boy, life was equally challenging. His mother, Elham, recounted their struggles saying "After the earthquake, I went through a divorce and then got back to my husband and this effected the family. Hamza lived with his father sister for a while before we reunited as a family in the camp. He was acting aggressively, and I felt helpless. Then a neighbour told me about the LIFT centre."

At first, Hamza had difficulty adjusting, “he acted very aggressively," said Muhammet Ali, a WVSR child development facilitator. "But then we understood that he had learning disabilities, we adapted our approach accordingly. We used shapes and movement, things he loved, to help him learn and express himself."

Slowly but surely and through WVSR team’s hard work and dedication, Hamza began to thrive. "Now, he’s connecting with other kids, learning better, and even reconnecting with me," Elham said, her voice full of emotion. "I feel like I’m becoming the mother I’ve always wanted to be for him."

Across LIFT centers in Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, and Kilis, 1345 children like Sara and Hamza, and 1591 caregivers like Elham, have found hope, healing, and a path forward.

Through the LIFT project, they are not just surviving — they are living again, with resilience, dreams, and a newfound joy for life.

*Name is changed to protect identity