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European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations

“When I think about the future, I stay hopeful”

Nelofar lives in Istanbul with her husband and 5 children. Fearing persecution in their home country Afghanistan, she was forced to flee to Turkey together with her family.

Navigating life in Turkey was difficult at the start. One of her sons suffers from a rare medical condition, which requires specialised health care that was not available in Yalova, the city where they initially settled.

For Nelofar’s child to access the treatment he needed, the family had to regularly visit a hospital in Istanbul. The distance and paperwork required for travelling from one province to the other made their lives increasingly difficult.

Thanks to EU humanitarian funding, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its partner Mavi Kalem helped Nelofar tackle the challenges she encountered one by one.

Her family had their registration transferred to Istanbul for easier access to medical treatment. Now, they regularly attend Mavi Kalem’s centre for psychosocial support and language classes.

Story by Can Eminoğlu, UNHCR
Photographs: © Emrah Gürel/UNHCR