The Syrian crisis has led to a large number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugees. At the end of 2012 this figure stood at around 2 million IDPs in Syria and 500,000 refugees in neighboring countries.

Most of these people depend on humanitarian assistance, or sharing host families’ dwindling resources to meet basic needs. This figure is growing daily and has led to a doubling of people in need in the last couple of months.

AMURT works with local and international partners in the Chouf mountain villages in Lebanon to provide Syrian refugees food, winter items and providing assistance with medical and educational needs.

26th March -Another day has come and gone in cold, snowy Tohoku and our spirits are higher than ever. Every shelter visited, every home cleaned, every connection made, every smile exchanged have confirmed the difference we can make here.

Update 24 March 2011.

Our AMURT team has finally arrived at Sendai and found accommodation at a youth hostel that besides being economical also affords us the possibility to cook our own food (the team are all vegetarian)

In Japan the confirmed death toll from the disaster has risen above 5,600. More than 9,500 people are missing and about 380,000 people are currently still in temporary shelters, many sleeping on the floor of school gymnasiums.

The AMURT team in new Zealand have been kept really busy responding to the massive earthquake that hit Christchurch.