Firefly's September 2020 Newsletter

Hello to all our supporters, we are so grateful you're sticking with us.

Thank you

We are adapting all the time to the new era post Covid-19, and the pressures this now presents for small charities.

But we will continue to work tirelessly and we'll keep the new ideas coming!

For a full update on Firefly's activities 2019 - 20 please read
Firefly's Annual Report on the link below

Firefly's Zoom Fundraiser

60 supporters joined us for our very first Zoom Partners Update in July. We heard directly from our Project Directors in Syria and Bosnia, who spoke about the impact of C19 on their work. It was a moving and powerful evening ...... watch Firefly's Zoom Fundraising film here

Our Firefly for Syrians Project Coordinator Maria Chambers has been in Antakya, Turkey this summer. Maria has been teaching English to young Syrian refugees who are hoping to apply to university in Turkey from our centre, as well as supporting the Firefly for Syrians team.

She had this very difficult conversation during a meeting with a mental health coordinator for Northern Syria, who said:

"The healthcare system is broken and has been before C19 arrived. People are panicking. There is no lockdown - you can’t enforce lockdown when people have to work to survive, living in tents in crowded camps and needing to queue for food daily due to food shortages. You can’t tell people not to pray in groups, it’s a threat to their spirituality. People are totally psychologically numb, and don’t care – they are numbed by war, numb to the desperate situation. Their attitude is to hell with C19. People are ignoring restrictions, weddings and funerals are going ahead as normal, nothing is changing. Covid19 is seen as a salvation that can rid them of a miserable life".

There are no real statistics for C19 inside Syria as there are very limited scanning and testing facilities. In the last 3 months the UOSSM has been faced with an increased number of suicide attempts, 13 serious (this is exceptionally high: suicide is taboo in Islam).

This is the reality for our children and families in North Syria.

Our work is more important now than ever, helping to build stability and hope within their community.

Please DONATE to support Syrian children’s learning. We have a few socially distanced workshops running this month - the majority of our programmes are online.

Our applied science workshop continues, mask wearing and social distancing, North Syria

Our partnership with IMET2000 and ACT International offering counselling to children suffering from PTSD on the Gaza strip, has continued remotely over the last few months. September has brought terrible news from Gaza about the pandemic starting to spread like wildfire with many deaths now being reported. This combined with continued bombing and fuel blockades means our work in supporting these children is even more crucial.

Svitac and the Covid Pandemic

From March to June, under lockdown, we offered fun and creative online activities to our younger participants, and a safe discussion space with creative activity to the older ones.

At the beginning of June, Svitac (Firefly in Bosnia) was allowed to start again with the activities in the youth centre, following the recommended measures.

Our Firefly in Bosnia Director Gordana said: "Everyone will remember this time in our lives for many years and we want our participants to feel safe - that's why it's very important for us to give them a chance to get out of the house after such a long time of restriction, to interact with their peers, do creative things, and simply play and laugh."

Between 130 and 140 participants attend Svitac's activities each month.

Svitac is a unique and inspirational organisation working every day in a community still devastated by war, bringing together children from the three formally warring ethnic groups and building friendship, tolerance and hope for their futures.

For more information about our August projects please click on this link

Firefly's 2020 Fundraising Gala

Tuesday 17th November, St George's Church, Notting Hill

Our Gala Committee is working on holding a safe and fun evening for all our supporters.

We are aiming for a hybrid live and virtual event. Those who are able can come and celebrate in person with our brilliant performers. We will be also offering a live-stream to watch in the comfort of your own homes so everyone can enjoy the music, readings and short films and of course not forgetting our wonderful auction.

We will send out details soon via emails and across our social media channels.

Walking the Wall

Meet the Team

In an exciting new addition to our Newsletter, we'll be including a short Q&A with a member of our team. We hope you enjoy getting to know us better.

Q & A with Dina Vošanović

Q: What is your role within Firefly?
A: I am Coordinator of Svitac (Firefly Bosnia) youth center activities.

Q: Where are you based?
A: Brčko District, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Q: 3 words that describe you
A: Caring, trustworthy and innovative

Q: 3 words that you would use to describe Firefly?
A: Freedom, light of knowledge and reconciliation

Q: If you could meet anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?
A: I would love to meet Esther Hobart Morris, Icon of Women’s Rights