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It's in your hand
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It's in your hand
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It's in your hand

Our Story
URDA, Urgent Relief and Development Association, is a Dutch non-governmental organization dedicated the defense and protection of human rights and the creation of proper conditions and opportunities for vulnerable populations, such as refugees, displaced persons and/or people affected by armed conflicts or natural disasters, regardless of race, gender, origin, religion or age. URDA works on promoting and developing lasting and sustainable changes in the social realities in which it intervenes to ensure dignified living conditions for the refugee population.
Our story began in 2016 when a team of humanitarians believed that they can carry the refugee’s voice to the international world after serving and living in the decaying tents of refugee camps. This team of youth believed in their impact and the humanity that still resides in others which motivated them to work for all the vulnerable people in this world. URDA’s team seeks to provide the current generations with a better future, one that is filled with hope.

The Story of Our Logo
URDA’s distinctive logo has evolved through time to form the hand dove that we know today. URDA inspired its logo from the five principles that govern the organization’s humanitarian efforts and have formed the shape of a hand of a human being that works for another. Since URDA has become a hand that crosses every continent in pursuit of helping underserved communities, the hand we know has started to mimic a dove that we wish to call a messenger of love and peace from one human being to another. The logo’s color was carefully chosen to symbolize stability, security, and clarity to the soul.

Our Theory of Change
Suffering, poverty, and injustice have become inevitable for many people these days, The pain that we see around us prompt so many questions that we cannot avoid; what kind of future is waiting for our children? What kind of life a woman will offer to her family when she is both emotionally and physically drained? Is this the generation we wish to entrust with humanity’s future when no education, development or psychosocial support is available for them? We continually tries to leave permanent changes in the lives of people which will last even after our aid stops by targeting three main groups of beneficiaries, including children, youth, and women. Out of these changes rise so many inspirational stories that allow us to see the humanity that is still somewhere inside of each and every one of us.
Children constitute one-third of our population and are a representation of our future, considering them as the most valuable resource. URDA believes in our future generations and is keen on helping them overcome post-traumatic effects by providing psychological support sessions to facilitate their recovery so they can lead a healthier life build.
The youth of our world are the trustees of its posterity. URDA works on building the capacities of the youth to achieve a permanent positive change. Education Sponsorships and development programs have led to many success stories among youth and children.
URDA considers women as the largest reservoir of talent in the world which has not been invested in yet. Stemming from this belief, URDA works on women empowerment as the leading sector among its programs. To support women, one supports a generation and an entire world, which is precisely the change we aim for because there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. HAYAT Story.
Ameen Story
Ameen Story
It is his eye that reflects what he cannot express …
Each image is a reflection of his imagination and desires …
It takes him on a journey through time to different worlds …
For him it is more than a machine … it is a mirror of life
He fled the war in a homeland that became a nightmare after he lost his parents in a tragic scene that he would never forget. Until now, the image of death and destitute doesn’t leave him no matter how hard he tries to erase the moments of harsh separation from his memory.
10-year-old Ameen Hammoud found refuge with his grandparents at URDA’s Al Awdeh shelter center where his case was handled by Bassamat psychosocial support team that saw in him a hero who’s looking for a new life, defying all circumstances that forced him to bear great responsibility at a young age. His unique character turned him into a little leader who could help in maintaining the discipline of his fellow refugee children during recreational and educational activities.
Who does not know Ameen, the distinguished child who sees in the camp a space where he can break the time barrier between his past and present? With time, Ameen became the camera’s companion!
Ameen’s passion for photography appeared when he was intrigued by the discovery of the camera, a cold machine that lights at night. Ameen was so enthusiastic about photography that he accompanied URDA’s photographer in Bekaa during his documentation of the relief and development projects in the camps. To him, photography became a great theater where all his mixed emotions can come to the surface.
Ameen was so intrigued and pleased with the camera details to an extent you could see him taking pictures of all that surrounds him like a shot of a smiling child or a rose sprouting between the rocks. He defines photography as a way to freeze a moment and a language that no one understands but him.
“I wish I had a camera to take all the pictures I want.” Ameen’s simplicity reflects on the wish he dreams of every time he sees a photographer. His desire came true, and with a donation from a generous benefactor, Ameen got a camera and began to develop his talent through training courses in coordination with the Bassamat team of psychosocial support.
The story of Ameen sums up the stories of thousands of Syrian children around the world. No one can erase the tragedies of war that have become deep-rooted in their memories. Those children try to gather the remnants of their scattered childhood and to achieve their childhood dreams; perhaps they can one day enjoy the sunshine again.
Hayat Story
Hayat Story
‘Hayat’ suffered immensely during the war in Syria which stripped her from her dignity and basic human rights. Due to the immense violence she had been subjected to, she suffered from a type of amnesia. One step after another and with the full support of URDA, she was able to retrieve her memory and to become a leader of a sewing workshop (one of URDA’s development projects). For ‘Hayat’ and others, we will do everything we can to change their bitter reality and guide them to a world full of hope and new beginnings.