Along the Turkish-Syrian border there are refugee camps without any official support and recognition.
In these contexts of extreme degradation, children are the most exposed because they lack the essentials: water, food, medical care, shelter and education.

Syria

The Syrian civil war, which began on 15 March 2011, has caused the flight of over 6 million people, of which 4.5 million are dispersed in areas where there is a lack of reception facilities and subsistence goods. SSCh has decided to support two projects in this tormented country: the pediatric clinic inside the Bab Al Salam refugee camp and the AMAN Project dedicated to women left alone and unable to provide for themselves and their children.

Ongoing projects

ESPERO involves 15 Syrian refugee women with an engineering background, engaged in a mentorship and participatory design program to develop initiatives in renewable energy and local development.

Project phases

  • Phase 1: Technical training and leadership → completed
  • Phase 2: Development of project ideas → completed
  • Phase 3: Executive design (May–October 2025) → ideas will be further detailed for a second pitch, during which the projects to be funded will be selected
  • Phase 4: Field implementation → funded projects will be carried out in the communities, with the support of experts and local stakeholders

Final goal
To create a model of active and transformative female leadership: participants are not only beneficiaries, but agents of change. Through the use of renewable energy, they will contribute to improving the quality of life in refugee camps and laying the groundwork for the post-conflict reconstruction of Syria.

The project aims to improve access to and quality of healthcare for vulnerable communities, through a holistic and culturally sensitive approach.

Main objectives

  1. Strengthen healthcare services through a clinic (general practitioner, pediatrician, midwife) and a medical vehicle for remote areas.
  2. Enhance the skills of healthcare workers and caregivers with webinars and workshops.
  3. Provide specific medical care for women with a specialized female staff (midwife and nurse).

Final goal
To address urgent health needs while at the same time creating lasting skills, tools, and networks that reinforce the community’s capacity to care for itself in a dignified, continuous, and culturally sensitive way.

The Help Point is an integrated humanitarian service that serves as a reference center for responding to the primary needs of affected populations. It provides combined assistance: on one side, basic medical support; on the other, the distribution of essential goods such as milk and nutritious food for malnourished children, tents, blankets, and hygiene kits. Its goal is to ensure immediate and dignified care, especially for families in situations of acute vulnerability.

Turkey

Turkey hosts more than half of the 6 million Syrians displaced by the war. There are refugee camps financed by UNHCR and managed by Afad, the Turkish government agency whose assistance programs nevertheless meet the primary needs of approximately 300,000 Syrians. The most difficult situation is that of those who live outside the official camps.

SSCh has been operating for 10 years in one of the spontaneous camps that arose along the Turkish-Syrian border. These camps differ from government ones due to the total absence of humanitarian aid. The living conditions are unimaginable. SSCh is the only company that takes charge of these ‘invisible’ places by entering and operating directly on site. It takes care of over 900 families for a total of 6000 people of which 4000 are minors. Among these, several hundred are orphans.

Ongoing projects in the spontaneous refugee camp

SSCh takes on the enormous difficulties of those who live in the camp in dramatic conditions on a daily basis. In this context, emergencies are countless and all of them are priorities. Dedicated resources and careful management of each individual aid are necessary in order to guarantee refugees – and children in particular – dignified living conditions. To achieve this objective and guarantee its continuity, projects are active which concern various areas of intervention: from food supplies, to medical care, to the management of cases of malnutrition and fragility, to education, to the procurement of basic necessities and any other emergency that may arise over time.

SSCh deals with purchasing and distributing food and basic necessities on site – tents, blankets, mattresses, wood, winter clothing – essential to ensure minimum living conditions in a context of absolute desolation and poverty. SSCh provides every month, in particular , to deliver over 900 food parcels, one for each household registered. The food parcels are ordered from Italy from local suppliers – supporting the small local economy – and then delivered by the SSCH team during on-site missions.

Until 2019, the camp lacked any source of clean, drinkable water. Two wells have been dug which distributes water throughout the camp through five fountains. Periodic monitoring and control of water quality remains essential to guarantee the hygiene and health of all inhabitants.

Since September 2019, a small school called the “Rainbow Tent” has been set up which hosts over 200 school-age children from the camp. Every month SSCh provides the teaching material and provides the salary of the two teachers who alternate in educational activities, agreed with the SSCh team. An educational twinning project has been active since the 2020/2021 school year between the tent school of the camp, the SSCh urban school on the Syrian border, and the Don Murialdo primary school in Turin with the aim of promoting relationships between children who pass geographical and cultural borders to promote the culture of peace and mutual respect.

In every SSCh mission there is a volunteer doctor who visits and prescribes therapies to children and adults for the entire duration of their stay at the camp. The working conditions are difficult and SSCH’s effort is aimed at improving its operations. SSCh takes care of the purchase of medicines and in the most serious cases takes action to facilitate hospitalization and to provide continuity of care to those who need it.

Food shortages make malnutrition a widespread problem in all the areas where SSCh operates, especially in the camp. Upon indication of the medical staff, identified cases are taken care of and powdered milk for newborns and specific foods for early childhood are regularly provided. There are currently 45 cases followed by SSCh, constantly monitored.

Particular attention is paid to those families who find themselves managing children with serious pathologies or disabilities and have no means to treat them. SSCh is at their side with specific support projects.

A long-distance adoption project is active for 130 families of children who have lost at least one or both parents. The amount donated by supporters is transformed into a voucher that can be spent at retailers selling goods selected by SSCh. The frequency of distribution of vouchers is monthly and is followed and monitored by the SSCh team from Italy and coordinates with local representatives. Upon returning from each mission, SSCh sends the report and photos to each individual supporter.

In the refugee camp lives Ahmed, a father who, due to a case of homonymy, was unjustly imprisoned during the war. Since his release from prison, his health has been severely compromised. At our urging, he began making beautiful beaded jewelry, turning creativity into a chance for redemption. With each mission, the SSCh team brings these artifacts to Italy, where they are donated to supporters in exchange for a contribution.

The proceeds go entirely to Ahmed and his children, with the belief that solidarity and support can emancipate this family from welfarism, providing an opportunity for autonomy through honest and decent work. SSCh hopes that this example will inspire other camp residents to develop new ideas, paving the way for a future of independence and redemption.

Madagascar

MADAPROJECT, A DROP AT A TIME

In the south of Madagascar, in the Toliara region – one of the driest and most vulnerable areas of the island – the communities of Andojy, Ankororoka, Betsinefo and Befoly – around 2,000 people, including more than 600 children – have been living for years with a chronic water crisis, worsened by climate change and geographical isolation.

Here, access to safe water is extremely limited, wells are often unusable, and families depend on external water deliveries to meet their most basic needs.

The MadaProject – One Drop at a Time was created to ensure safe and sustainable access to water, improve health and nutrition, and strengthen the autonomy of local communities.
Emergency interventions (water trucking and medical support) are always paired with training activities, on-site learning workshops and feasibility studies aimed at identifying long-term, sustainable solutions.

With the support of our local partner FALIFALY and the expertise of doctors, agroecology specialists and water-harvesting experts, the project promotes a community empowerment pathway based on active participation and local capacity building.
All implemented actions rely on continuous training and capacity building for beneficiaries, and on the empowerment of local focal points who become our “eyes and ears” in the field – key figures who ensure continuity, listening, and long-term ownership of the project.

PROJECT ACTIONS:

The project provides basic medical assistance with a focus on maternal and child health and the prevention of malnutrition.
During the most recent medical mission, 239 children under five were examined, hygiene kits were distributed, and practical workshops on nutrition, hygiene and infection prevention were delivered.

A local doctor, now serving as the project’s health focal point, ensures continuous follow-up with families and maintains direct contact with the community.
In parallel, the project promotes targeted nutritional interventions through regular screenings, training for mothers, and the distribution of fortified foods and therapeutic supplements to address chronic deficiencies and support healthy child development.

Every week, the villages receive safe drinking water via truck – a temporary yet essential measure in a context where most wells are unusable.
Alongside this immediate response, the project develops sustainable, community-based solutions through learning-by-doing workshops that test systems for rainwater collection and road runoff harvesting.

Families are trained to independently maintain and manage these systems, turning water from a critical need into a shared community skill.
The MadaProject avoids complex and expensive infrastructure, choosing instead lightweight, unconventional, deeply sustainable solutions that communities can realistically manage – technically and financially – over time.

Ongoing field missions and current activities are laying the groundwork for addressing nutrition in an integrated way, linking health, food practices and sustainable agriculture.

Upcoming activities will include nutrition education sessions and cooking workshops that valorize local products and traditional knowledge, promoting healthy and environmentally respectful choices.

Agroecology trainings will be launched to teach efficient use of collected water, with the aim of improving food security and supporting more resilient management of household gardens.

In the long term, the project intends to introduce elements of agroforestry adapted to arid environments, encouraging the cultivation of drought-resistant native species and forms of integration between trees, crops and small-scale cultivated areas.
This approach will strengthen the ecological and nutritional resilience of communities and support gradual soil regeneration over time.

The MadaProject invests in education and skills development as key drivers of long-term transformation.

Children’s Education

In a region where many children have no access to school, the project supports a community school that provides basic education, meals and a safe environment to grow.
For the youngest, this represents their only opportunity to learn, receive care and envision a different future, breaking the cycle of poverty and isolation.

Adult Training and Capacity Building

In parallel, the project promotes training programmes for adults, local operators and village focal points, with the goal of strengthening the technical, managerial and social skills of communities.
Through awareness-raising and participatory practices, a culture of shared responsibility and water stewardship is fostered, making communities active agents of their own development.

Gaza

GAZA, HELP NOW

In response to the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, we are committed to providing vital aid despite communication difficulties and risks. With our team on the ground, every week we distribute food parcels and prepare nutritious meals for children, striving to also provide fresh vegetables. To address the water shortage, a water tanker truck supplies four different points across the Strip. In addition, we deliver tents to those living on the streets, offering shelter and dignity.

As long as the conflict and emergency continue, we will be there.