Uploaded March 2020 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
“Our teams are doing an amazing job – but they need to do an even bigger job. And for that, we need your help.” Watch this message from International Rescue Committee president & CEO David Miliband about our COVID-19 response and how you can make a difference.
“Our teams are doing an amazing job – but they need to do an even bigger job. And for that, we need your help.” Watch this message from International Rescue Committee president & CEO David Miliband about our COVID-19 response and how you can make a difference.
![How the IRC and Sesame Workshop reach refugee children during COVID-19
Ahlan Simsim, created by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Sesame Workshop, is an early childhood development program that gives millions of refugee and displaced children and their families in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq the support they need to cope with crises and build a brighter future. The program has adapted to COVID-19 by providing caregivers with learning activities for their children via WhatsApp.
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Tripoli, Lebanon
We stay home every day and watch Simsim [Ahlan Simsim, the show] and we cant go outside because of Corona.
Ahlan Simsim, created by the IRC and Sesame Workshop, is an early childhood development program.
It continues to provide learning activities for Syrian refugee children in the Middle East.
Roaa, what do we mean by caring?
It means my father and mother love me.
To adapt to COVID-19, IRC facilitators now reach caregivers via WhatsApp with activities for children at home.
The activities focus on language skills, hygiene, social-emotional learning and physical movement.
An animal that gives us milk?
Cow.
An animal who swims and says, wak wak?
Duck.
In times of crisis, education is a lifeline, giving refugee children the skills they need to heal and thrive.
We are working to ensure our programs continue safely.
The IRC helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. How the IRC and Sesame Workshop reach refugee children during COVID-19](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7vxZJqB0kSs/mqdefault.jpg)









