"I am convinced we must train not only the head, but the heart and hand as well." Madame Chiang Kai-Shek

This collection of photos was captured on my second visit to Mafraq, a city in northern Jordan. My project with the Syrian refugees will continue until June. On this visit, I accompanied two other volunteers on visits to the refugees' shelters/homes.


The lady pictured with her four children has acute tonsillitis and says her condition is worsening despite the medicine she's taking. Even if she were to consider an operation, she doesn't have the funds. The charity organizations working in Mafraq had given her family a portable heater, but she doesn't have money with which to buy gas for it. As a result her apartment is freezing cold. None of her children have been admitted to school in Mafraq, and her husband works odd jobs to eke out a living. We gave her a food package (25 JD) containing rice and other essentials, as well as diapers.


The pictures of the apartment were taken at the home of a lady who used to be secretary--and whose husband used to be a lawyer--before they fled Syria. Her teenage daughters go to school, but their younger siblings do not. Considering others' situations, their family is pretty well off. They were the most optimistic people we met that day.


The group picture of children taken in an empty room includes a few Jordanian children, neighbor friends of the family we were visiting. The Syrian kids' mother (not pictured) is feeling frustrated because her husband has recently taken a second, younger wife, despite their struggle to make ends meet as it is. They use the 10-JD mattresses given to them by charity organizations as sofa cushions during the day and as beds at night--nowhere near enough warmth.


The shots with the men, the woman holding a baby, and the boy in the doorway were taken in a poor neighborhood. The household we were visiting consisted of several families living together in a large black tent. We had to enter through a iron door. Inexplicably, they have a TV (playing Middle Eastern soaps) but no light source, running water, or any other facilities. The woman with the baby is someone living nearby. She had heard of volunteers coming so she dropped in to ask for food and diapers. She was soon joined by a swarm of curious neighbors, eager to seek aid as well. We could not promise them anything.


The photo of the woman sitting against a wall was taken right outside the tent. She is feeding her baby.


The last place we visited was a house on a street. We entered into a large room with thin walls that did little to keep out the cold. Like the other places we visited, these people only have a small portable heater (also used to brew tea) to keep warm. They are an extended family living together. When one person from our team asked a little boy for his name, his mother said, "Bashar" and burst out laughing, as did his aunts. The boy only smiled, embarrassed. I wonder if he wants to change his name.
(The Syrian president's name is Bashar Al Assad.)