JRS/USA works closely with JRS/Mexico on a recently developed program, called Caminar Contigo. This program works to address and respond to the needs of refugees, asylum seekers, and other displaced people at our shared border.

Those leaving Sudan have fled to Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, where agencies like Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) have been providing support and relief to the displaced populations. JRS has focused its response efforts since the beginning of the conflict in Chad, where we provide emergency education and psychosocial support, and South Sudan, where our operational focus is mainly physiotherapy rehabilitation, mental health and psychosocial support.

JRS is present in 18 countries in Europe, with JRS Romania and JRS Poland predominately serving fleeing Ukrainians as border countries.

While we hope that they will soon be able to return safely, JRS and the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) are mobilizing resources worldwide to provide immediate support in Ukraine and in neighboring countries.

Following the Fall of Kabul in 2021, JRS has continued to accompany those fleeing Afghanistan. Today, JRS works around the world to provide for their immediate needs and longer-term support. We provide needed mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), education, and livelihood courses.

JRS Colombia began its work in 1995, serving IDPs of the country’s civil war. Today, JRS Colombia continues to provide legal, psychosocial, and emergency assistance to forced migrants. JRS contributes to local integration efforts through livelihood and community participation programmes. With many new arrivals from Venezuela, JRS Colombia also provides humanitarian assistance and legal support to Venezuelans.

The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has left thousands of people without access to food, education, health care, and the ability to make a living. As many Venezuelans flee to neighboring countries, some remain in the country, where the economic and societal violence continues.

JRS Venezuela recognizes the need for integrated interventions that combine social and humanitarian solutions. As part of this, JRS Venezuela focuses its programs on building social cohesion and communal trust.

JRS Syria was founded in 2008 in response to the growing number of Iraqi refugees. When the civil war erupted in 2011, JRS Syria began serving internally displaced Syrians, providing health services, education, child protection, livelihood training, and emergency aid in areas where no other NGO could go. However, the crisis was compounded when earthquakes hit the region in February of 2023. JRS immediately responded to the crisis providing people with shelter, food, and basic needs to face the harsh weather conditions. JRS health clinics reopened to assist people affected by the earthquakes, and volunteers accompanied the affected communities as new needs arose.

Since 2014, JRS implemented projects in seven locations, and is currently serving almost 75,000 people, mainly through psychosocial support projects.