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LOS ANGELES - International Medical Corps announced today a new partnership with HP to provide training and expand employment opportunities for Syrian refugees in Turkey. This new collaboration will build on the success of International Medical Corps’ Multi-Service Centers that have provided a wide variety of support for refugees in Turkey over the past five years and leverage HP’s technology as well as HP LIFE, a program of the HP Foundation, which provides skills based business and IT training to transform lives for communities around the world. As part of this initiative, HP will make online freelance opportunities available to refugees.
Turkey is now hosting more than 2.7 million registered refugees, the vast majority of whom have not had access to educational or employment opportunities since the start of the conflict and struggle to make ends meet. To address this gap, International Medical Corps opened a Livelihoods Center – the Maharat Center – in Istanbul that provides services for refugees including: job skills training classes; training on Turkish labor law; brand management; enterprise set-up; business development; and entrepreneurship and innovation.
The Livelihoods Center will support refugees through regular trainings and workshops and also provide one-to-one mentoring on the details of business development. These programs will provide participants with the skills and knowledge to find employment in the local market. The Livelihoods Center in Istanbul will serve as a pilot that International Medical Corps hopes to expand to other locations in Turkey and beyond.
To support these services and ensure refugees have access to training, HP will provide the pilot center with technology to enable access to HP LIFE e-learning courses, which cover 25 essential business and IT skills, and is available in seven languages
"HP's leadership and its commitment to providing refugees with educational opportunities is an excellent example of how the private sector can leverage its expertise to help families rebuild their lives. Our collaboration will enhance refugees' marketable skills and open avenues for employment and economic progress," noted Rebecca Milner, International Medical Corps' VP of Institutional Advancement.
"It is important that companies and organizations rise to the challenge we all face to address the needs of displaced families and communities in the Middle East and beyond," said Nate Hurst, HP Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer. "We are proud to collaborate with International Medical Corps to help refugees to build a better, more prosperous life through access to quality education and employment opportunities."
About International Medical Corps
Since its inception more than 30 years ago, International Medical Corps’ mission has been consistent: relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated populations to self-reliance. International Medical Corps has delivered more than $2.4 billion in humanitarian relief and training in 75 countries since 1984. Today its global staff of more than 7,000 provides assistance to devastated communities in the world’s hardest-hit areas, from Syria to Sierra Leone, Iraq to Afghanistan. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Medium.
