JORDAN: U.N. agency struggles to feed Syrian refugees in Jordan camp

Record ID: 274443

  • Title: JORDAN: U.N. agency struggles to feed Syrian refugees in Jordan camp
  • Date: 17th September 2013
  • Summary: ZAATARI, JORDAN (SEPTEMBER 11-12, 2013) (WFP) PAN ACROSS HOUSES IN ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP TRACKING FROM CAR THROUGH MARKET IN CAMP WOMAN CARRYING BOX OF WFP FOOD RATIONS MAN POURING OUT COFFEE FROM LARGE COFFEE POT STRAPPED ON HIS BACK SCHOOLCHILDREN SHOUTING AND WAVING VARIOUS TEACHER PERFORMING GYMNASTICS WITH HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN CHILDREN IN CLASSROOM TEACHER AT BLACKBOA
  • Embargoed: 2nd October 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jordan
  • Country: Jordan
  • Topics: Conflict,Social Services / Welfare
  • Reuters ID: LVALMEHO4MDXO7SSZKL96W7NG1T
  • Story Text: UN agency swaps food rations for vouchers to help feed the growing number of Syrian refugees in Zaatari camp.
    In a little more than one year, the Zaatari Refugee camp in Jordan has become one of the largest camps in the world, a small city with more than 110,000 Syrian refugees.
    The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) faces a challenge to supply all of them with food.
    Every day 10 babies are born in Zaatari.
    Half of the inhabitants of the camp are children.
    Many of them are traumatized by the conflict having lost homes and family members.
    Children are encouraged to go to school because they know they will receive date bars in the classroom.
    A voucher system has been introduced by WFP in Zaatari - moving away from the food rations.
    This allows refugees to choose from a variety of items, including fresh produce not normally included in food rations.
    The paper voucher has a value of 34 U.S. dollars (USD) or 24 Jordanian dinars per person per month.
    Um Shadi Bardan is from Deraa in Syria.
    In December 2012, her house was burnt down, forcing her and her family to flee and cross into Jordan.
    "We are very happy with the vouchers," said Um Shadi Bardan.
    "Before we were always having bulgar, lentils, rice, and canned food. It was limited. It has now changed. Now we can have yogurt, cheese, sardines, tuna, and other commodities we never had before," she added.
    The voucher system helps to support the towns and villages around the camp and boosts the local economy.
    The shops also employ Syrian refugees.
    In total, the voucher system has injected over 153 million U.S. dollars into the local economies of these countries since the beginning of 2013.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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