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In the Reception of Sudanese Children Arriving in Egypt

UNICEF cooperates with the Ministry of Health and Aswan Governorate to provide services to children and their families arriving from Sudan

Dalia Younis

UNICEF/Egypt 2023/Ahmed Mostafa

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العربية

14 May 2023

A glass of cold water and a clean bathroom are the first things most mothers try to get for their children after a difficult journey across the borders.

What if they receive care for them and their children in a child-friendly space that provides urgent psychosocial support?

UNICEF/Egypt 2023/Ahmed Mostafa

With the increasing number of displaced families from Sudan following the conflicts that intensified in April 2023, the Karkar bus stop receives hundreds of Sudanese daily who have spent hours, sometime days, traveling from different Sudanese cities to Egypt. Karkar is the furthest point where buses coming from Sudan are allowed to reach after crossing the boarders.

UNICEF/Egypt 2023/Ahmed Mostafa

At the bus stop, UNICEF urgently established the first child-friendly space in April 2023 to provide services to displaced children and their families. In cooperation with the Aswan Governorate and Health Directorate, a safe space was created for mothers and children to spend the waiting time at. A space that is shaded, bus-exhaust free, with a clean toilet and a water dispenser.

UNICEF/Egypt 2023/Ahmed Mostafa

In this space, children find a lot of different toys. Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF Representative in Egypt, says: "Play therapy and psychological support are very important for children to process trauma. And these children have been through trauma."

UNICEF/Egypt 2023/Ahmed Mostafa

On its first week of operation, the space welcomed more than 300 children and their mothers. The space’s facilitators were keen to listen to the needs of parents and children in order to provide a more efficient service and response. There is an ambitious plan to expand the establishment of child-friendly spaces in the gathering areas of displaced Sudanese families in Aswan city to provide more support to the settling families there.

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In the Reception of Sudanese Children Arriving in Egypt

UNICEF cooperates with the Ministry of Health and Aswan Governorate to provide services to children and their families arriving from Sudan

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