Hurras is a women-managed centre that prioritises the involvement of local communities and families in activities with children. It works in cooperation with partners, volunteers, and national and international organisations to guarantee that the children enjoy all their rights and freedoms guaranteed to them in the Convention on the Rights of the Children.
Aims
Hurras aims to effect direct and lasting change that guarantees children care and security in terms of their day-to-day lives, their health, and their education and social care. It wants to raise awareness of children's rights and how to guard their interests in society.
Description of activities
Tavara Warak Magazine: a bi-weekly Syrian magazine distributed to children aged 7-14, committed to publishing accurate information, relevant and interesting information. The team is made up of young volunteers who aim to instil values of tolerance, solidarity, mutual understanding and peace between children, and to develop their cooperation and conflict resolution skills.
Capacity Building: offers training and consultancy services to build the capacity of voluntary and educational organisations in the field of psychosocial support for children, including the Peace Education Programme; the Communication with Children Programme; emergency education; child protection; and training for mothers.
Peace Education Programme: teaches skills and values related to peaceful behaviour, facilitating and encouraging children to evaluate social topics, and to develop positive attitudes towards co-existence and peaceful problem-solving in their societies.
Communication with Children: a resource pack that aims to provide an introduction into the skills of working effectively with children, especially those working with child refugees.
Emergency Education: provides a safe environment for education, identifies students who need additional support, and provides them with special help according to their needs. The training pack also aims to improve educational provision and recovery time from crises, focusing on reaching high standards, coordination, and securing the rights and answering the educational needs of people affected by conflict.
Child Protection: a training pack that contains the basics on child protection, helping the participant to build the capacity to prevent mistreatment of children, increase their awareness of and creating child-friendly environments.
Training for Mothers: community-based workshops for mothers on dealing with children during wartime, helping them to provide better care and protection for their children during wartime, understanding types of violence and its impact on children, and teaching them techniques to provide psychosocial support to their children. Certificates are provided for trainees upon completion of the training programme.
Psychological Support: offers different types of support, including recreational activities, targeted group psychosocial support sessions, and one-to-one psychosocial support.
Child Protection Case Management: aims to identify the most vulnerable children in the areas where it works, and to develop response and intervention plans to support them, including coordination with local authorities and community services. Once the child is identified and registered, a case file is opened and a plan is developed with the help of the child's guardian; the plan is monitored monthly, and often includes direct financial support.
Education Centres: it establishes educational centres that provide mainstream and special education, as well as psychosocial support services for children; the curriculum includes life-saving information, including how to avoid landmines and how to protect yourself from sexual abuse.
Organisational Support Programmes: in these programmes consultants work with institutions to provide support in various areas to raise standards, including its School Improvement Programme, School Inset Programme, and Child-Friendly Space Improvement Programme.
