General
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If only my kite could take me back home to Syria
Fleeing from killing and war, the refugee children have very few toys with them. Toys were left at home in Syria. Kites are integral to spring in the Middle East. They’re everywhere in different shapes and colours. 440 children in the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps received their own kites when Finn Church Aid organised […]
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A day in primary school in Eritrea
Primary school children dressed in bright green school uniforms smile and wave at us on our morning run while the morning rush hour is only just about to start. As sunlight breaks colours into soft evening shades, groups of school children returning home bring colour back to the streets of Asmara. What is going on? […]
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Teachers without Borders volunteers in Eritrea
It only takes some 13 hours to get to Asmara from the Helsinki Airport in Finland. Yet, Finland and Eritrea are located on the same time zone. It is perhaps more accurate to measure the actual time difference between the two countries in decades rather than hours. The city of Asmara is characterised by charmingly […]
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Rethinking learning – work before play
My mind was racing as I was bobbing on the back seat of an off-road vehicle on a mountain road in Haiti looking for suitable sites to build the Finn Church Aid (FCA) schools on. I was thinking about how I could help our teams around the tropical zone as they struggle knee deep in […]
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The garden grows in the desert refugee camp
The war in Syria already tires the aid donors around the world, but even more it exhausts the individuals that are placed inside the refugee camps. Intended to be temporary, the camps in the northern part of Jordan may become permanent residential places. Zaatri camp, set up in 2012, already has its own government, security forces, […]
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What it Means to be a Peacemaker
Peace programmes are more and more prevalent in NGOs these days. Development cooperation is trying to integrate conflict prevention and conflict management components into many of their programmes. For example, natural resources and conflict prevention, livelihoods and conflict prevention and education and conflict prevention just to name a few. Finland, in particular, is prominent in […]
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Why is Jonas Burgos still missing?
On International Day of Social Justice, NCCP remembers the victims of enforced disappearances. During 2010-2014, altogether 21 persons have been victims of enforced disappearances in the Philippines.* The Court of Appeals has ruled that the military and government are responsible for these cases. Jonas Burgos was abducted in April 2007, almost eight years ago. Why […]