Since 2016, Burkina Faso has been experiencing political instability and violent conflict, leading to over 2 million internally displaced people and more than 200,000 refugees in neighboring countries. Maimouna Ba's organization, Femmes pour la Dignite du Sahel (Women for the Dignity of the Sahel), has offered since 2020 school fees for displaced children and skills training for displaced women. She collected donations, rallied support and encouraged volunteers to join her. Since then, her Un Enfant, Un Parrain (One Child, One Sponsor) programme has matched vulnerable children with individual sponsors who contribute towards their school fees.

The ongoing airstrikes in Lebanon have forced tens of thousands of individuals to flee from the southern regions, including the southern suburbs of Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, seeking safety in areas like Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and the North. 

As many continue to search for housing and shelter, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is actively responding to the crisis, focusing on the needs of both affected Lebanese communities and refugees. Key priorities include providing safe shelter, core relief items, healthcare, cash assistance, and protection services to ensure the well-being of those impacted by the violence.

Guillaume Junior Atangana's historic third-place finish in the men’s 400m at the Paris Paralympics, exemplifies the resilience and triumph of the Refugee Paralympic Team and the power of sport to inspire hope among refugees.

Refugee athlete Cindy Ngamba secured the first-ever medal for the Refugee Olympic Team, after she triumphed in her quarterfinal bout and guaranteed herself a bronze medal. 

“For me, every time I meet them, I tell them: Don't lose hope, you are not going to be a refugee forever. One day you'll go home, and you can use the skills you have learned here. So, any opportunity you have, learn.” 

Growing up as a refugee in Burundi, Juliette Murekeyisoni dedicated herself to helping others from an early age. In her recent role as UNHCR’s deputy representative in South Sudan, she continued to keep hope alive by encouraging refugees to focus on their education and long-term perspectives.

South Sudan hosts around 330,000 refugees as well as 2 million others internally displaced due to conflict, insecurity and the impact of climate change. In this episode of Awake at Night, recorded on 20 June 2024, Juliette Murekeyisoni reflects on improving prospects of those forced to flee, on her own traumatic experiences during the Rwandan genocide, and on a life touched by the kindness of strangers.

Photo: © UNHCR/Mary Sanyu Osire

Perina Nakang, an 800-meter runner, is among the 37 athletes representing the International Olympic Committee Refugee Olympic Team at the Paris Games. Fleeing conflict at age seven, she found refuge in Kenya’s Kakuma camp, where she also discovered her passion for sports. Now, Nakang is set to compete with the aim of achieving her personal best, embodying the resilience and determination of athletes overcoming adversity.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants risk their lives on routes that extend from the East and Horn of Africa and West Africa, towards North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. Much attention is focused on the dangers they face attempting the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing. But before they reach the shore, many endure extreme and repeated violence and abuse on land. A new data visualization ("Death in the Desert") draws on interviews with more than 31,000 refugees and migrants to map those routes and the most common dangers refugees and migrants face on them. 

UNHCR issues stark warning as forced displacement reaches alarming levels, urging global action to prevent apathy and inaction.

"Thread of Hope" is an animated short film showcasing the resilience and creativity of refugee women, emphasizing empowerment through craftsmanship and cultural heritage.

Refugee entrepreneur Raphael transforms Kakuma camp in Kenya through plastic recycling, creating jobs and fostering environmental sustainability.

Since 2014, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced by war. Yana Liubymova fled the city of Kadiivka in 2014 and settled in the city of Starobilsk, where she co-founded "The Effective Community" to help displaced people integrate into new communities. In 2020, she became the head of the Council for Internally Displaced People in the Luhansk region. However, on 24 February 2022, she had to flee again as Starobilsk came under Russian occupation. Yana helped others fleeing to find accommodation and access needed help, and after 4 months, she moved to Kyiv for a job at the Ombudsperson’s Office. Her focus remains on those displaced from the Luhansk region and on creating conditions for voluntary return after the Ukrainian government regains control over occupied areas. 

"Volunteers from all areas of society have helped people who have been directly impacted by the war. They're cooking meals, giving clothing, giving money, opening their homes."

Karolina Lindholm Billing was posted to Ukraine less than a year before the full-scale Russian invasion. As the UNHCR Representative in the country, she draws hope from witnessing the power of community volunteer networks in supporting displaced people in their hour of need.

In this episode, Karolina reflects on Ukrainian resilience, the drive to rebuild, and why people long to stay in their own homes, even in a war zone.

“What I’ve seen so clearly during these last 600 plus days of the war in Ukraine, is how quickly people want to recover…So when we can be a little enabler of that recovery, I think that feels meaningful”

Photo: ©UNHCR/Oleksii Barkov

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett and Ke Huy Quan opened the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva with a performance of JJ Bola’s stunning poem “Refuge.”

The world’s largest gathering on refugee issues closed with over 1,600 pledges of action and financial commitments worth an estimated $2.2 billion. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi praised the "determined unity” shown by participants, who – in the face of global division and crises – pledged transformative action on behalf of refugees and the countries hosting them. The 2023 Global Refugee Forum came as the global refugee population has reached a record level of 36.4 million, with a total population of the forcibly displaced of 114 million people.

Abdullahi Mire's foundation has supplied over 100,000 books donated by education charities and former refugees living in the diaspora to support schools in Kenya's Dadaab camp and to establish three public libraries.