War and violence is tearing lives apart across the world right now. The impact for children caught up in these conflicts is heartbreaking.

Dina* and Zain* say their three children have seen and heard things that no child should.

The family endured extreme starvation, inadequate healthcare and discrimination, after being forced to flee their beloved home country.

Finally arriving in Australia just 12 months ago, after years of waiting, they have tried to create a new life. But for eldest son Aziz*, daughter, Layla* and youngest son, Jamil*, the scars from the violence they have experienced are raw.

Dina and Zain are coping with their own trauma and do not know how to help the children. They feel guilty and alone. ARA’s Emergency Support Service can provide the support this family needs right now.

Will you please send a Christmas gift urgently?

The children are haunted day and night by what they have seen and heard. They are trying so hard, but they cannot settle into school, often too overwhelmed to attend classes.

Dina says they are so grateful to be in a country where they do not see violence from their front door every day. But now they live with a new type of pain.

“I knew when we came here it would not be easy to make new life. But this is so much harder than I expected,” says Dina in anguish.

Jamil is so traumatised about the starvation he experienced, he overeats and hides food in his room. He is stressed, guilty and afraid, all the time.

Layla needs intensive therapy to rebuild her confidence to speak again, but she is afraid to
go to therapy. Talking about and re-living these terrible experiences is extremely traumatic.

Aziz, a victim of bullying and violence, is determined to study, get good grades and one day, find a job to help his family. But he, too, is paralysed by fear.

These children need compassionate, regular support and counselling to begin the healing process. ARA’s Emergency Support Service can provide all this and more. We can give them hope, but only with your help.

Now and right through the year, there is an urgent need to help families like Dina’s who do not have the strength and support network to help themselves.

The Emergency Support Service can step in and offer a path to healing and happiness.

ARA’s skilled case workers, many of whom are former refugees themselves, have specialist skills, experience and knowledge in supporting families like this. You can give our case workers the additional hours they need to bring hope to this family.

Your gift will make a huge difference in the lives of these young people, and Dina and Zain. But demand for the Emergency Support Service is high and we must replenish funds. We need your support urgently.

Will you please add Dina’s family to your Christmas gift list today?