A New Life

In Jordan, there are many people who have the same story, who have experienced crises, and find themselves displaced. Refugee families have encountered different types of loss and despite finding refuge in Jordan, the high cost of accessing healthcare can make life very difficult. Medair has encountered families who struggle to support their basic needs, including healthcare, food, education and an income.

Wafaa is a Syrian refugee who came to Jordan with her family in 2014. She was enrolled in Medair’s behaviour change communication (BCC) programme funded by the European Union. Wafaa explained the effect of the Syria crisis on her and her family:

‘’Being away from our home is really hard, what happened to my country broke my heart.’’ Wafaa said.

Medair’s health team, joined by EU Technical Expert, Branko, visited Wafaa’s home in east Amman to conduct a follow-up visit after she had completed Medair’s BCC programme. Wafaa and her husband, Ali, live in a small house with their two daughters and two sons. Wafaa and Ali are caught in a mire of debt with their neighbours, local supermarkets, and pharmacy, which they are unlikely to be able to pay off. Ali is a tailor and was the only caregiver for the family, but now, because of his health conditions, he is unable to work. His oldest son, Mohamad, is 17 years old and he decided to leave school and work as a tailor to support his family.

Wafaa suffers from multiple conditions as a result of her life experiences, and her health conditions have the biggest impact. She has a hole in her heart, hypertension, and diabetes, and before participating in Medair’s BCC programme, she weighed 163kg, which was badly affecting her health. Wafaa wasn’t aware of her health concerns, and she didn’t know that she could make changes to improve her health for the better. ‘’For some people, like me, we didn’t complete our education, and we do not have a good awareness about health matters.’’ Wafaa explained to Medair’s health team.

Wafaa was enrolled for Medair’s BCC sessions in January 2022, and she completed six sessions. Through these sessions, Medair’s health team supports participants to adopt healthy behaviors around diabetes control and prevention, the benefits of regular exercise, the adoption of a low salt diet, and self-care practices and psychological support.

Mays is a health officer, and supported Wafaa by providing key health messages. Mays explained the aim of Medair’s BCC programme: ‘’We consistently aim to empower people so that they can take charge of their health and well-being. It is rewarding when our participants proudly share their own success stories with us; that’s when we truly see the impact of our work and how it contributes to improving their quality of life.’’

After Medair’s behaviour change awareness sessions, Wafaa started to change her lifestyle. She added regular exercise and adopted a healthy diet, losing 22kg in a short time. With this, she became more aware of her diseases and how she can choose healthy and suitable food options for herself and her family.

Wafaa shared, “I developed my thinking after these sessions, I wasn’t aware of the benefits of healthy food choices and because of your messaging, you helped me to lose 22 kg of my weight healthily. I started to do exercises and walk almost every day. When your mind is aware, you start learning.”

Wafaa now has enough information to know if she has high or low diabetes and blood pressure and knows how to respond in both situations. Reflecting on the support provided by Medair, Wafaa shared, ‘’I felt hopeless, and my mental health was bad too, but now I feel better, happier, and more comfortable when I sleep, move, and eat. You (Medair) helped me, and my family and you put happiness in my heart. The confidence, great morale, and positive energy I now have are all these because of you, a lot of things are better now.”

At the end of the visit, Branko, EU Technical Expert told Wafaa, “I’m very happy to hear your story, it’s inspiring. I hope you share what you learned with others, and not only with your family”.

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With support from the European Union, Medair is supporting vulnerable refugees to overcome ongoing access barriers to healthcare and emergency treatment.

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