The Turkish Red Crescent and Red Cross coordinate efforts for the rehabilitation and recovery of thousands of Syrian children traumatized by the ongoing civil war in their country. Some 261,972 Syrian children who took shelter in Turkey amid the six-year war were reached out to by aid workers at community centers set up especially for them. Through drawing, painting, plays, chess, watching cartoons, puppet shows and other activities, the children are offered a respite from the trauma they have suffered.

Turkey is home to more than 3 million refugees displaced by the Syrian war, the largest Syrian refugee community in the world, and is praised for its exemplary hospitality toward refugees. A small fraction of refugees live in camps set up by the Turkish state but the majority live in big cities or cities near the Syrian border. Children living outside the camps are particularly vulnerable to the trauma left on them.

The Red Crescent has been conducting a "psychosocial support" program since 2013. In 22 refugee camps and in neighborhoods with large refugee populations, they reached out to thousands. Apart from pastime activities, the children are provided psychiatric therapy, taught about children's rights, hygiene and what to do against bullying.

Red Crescent President Dr. Kerem Kınık told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they work to minimize the damage the war has left on the children and to prevent "a lost generation" with no access to education and personal development. "We want to show them that there is a world without wars too," he said.