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Francis Mbéré never thought he would enjoy life again after what he endured in his home country, the Central African Republic. But nine years after fleeing brutal attacks, he proudly parades the streets of his adopted hometown, Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo, with his friends and fellow “sapeurs.” The sapeurs are followers of a fashion and cultural movement known as La Sape – the Society of Ambiance Makers and Elegant People (Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes in French) – that gained popularity in the 1960s in Brazzaville and Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The movement was inspired by 19th century French dandyism. Francis strikes a pose outside his home, joined by his son Séverin and his friend Crèche, aka Parabola.

When fireworks sound like gunfire. When sirens sound like screaming. When slamming doors sound like dropping bombs. Refugees need solidarity and love to help heal the scars of war.

Conflict and crisis exact a massive toll on women and girls. shares the stories of five women - how their lives changed since fleeing Ukraine and how their new lives in Moldova unfold.

“When I meet with children, I just see that there's always that glimpse of hope in their eyes and that drive to make a future for themselves.”

Bo Viktor Nylund has always been drawn to complex, difficult places. As the Representative of UNICEF in Syria, he is a passionate advocate for the rights of children growing up in one of the world’s most thorny and protracted crises. Children continue to bear the brunt of Syria’s decade-old conflict, with millions of childhoods shattered through destruction, displacement, and death. Meanwhile, thousands of children of Islamic State fighters, some as young as 12, are being held indefinitely in camps in the country’s north. In this episode, Bo Viktor Nylund reflects on their grim plight and his determination to do right by every Syrian child hoping for a better future through education.

“The situation of the children who have been affiliated with Islamic State is basically a time bomb in the making.”

Photo: ©UNICEF/Syria/ Delil Souleiman

Nataliia, a human rights officer working with the . She listens to the stories of internally displaced persons in Uzhhorod, in Ukraine’s west. One of her key jobs now is to gather first-hand information on allegations of international human rights abuses and humanitarian law violations resulting from the armed attack of the Russian Federation on Ukraine. She talks to people on the ground, listens to their stories and documents what has happened to them or their loved ones, looking to help verify civilian casualty incidents.

Vera is among families in Moldova receiving cash grants from the (WFP), for taking in refugees from Ukraine. Seven-year-old Eva travelled for two days by bus from Odesa, with her mother and brother, when fighting escalated close to home. After living alone for 40 years, their new host, Vera, says she is more than happy to open up her home to the new family. There, in a suburb of Chisinau, Moldova's capital, Vera has been giving Eva gardening lessons. “I taught Eva to grow tomatoes, so she has a project, but I hope she never gets to taste them,” says Vera. “It would be a shame if she's still here when they are ready for harvest. She should be at home.”

11th-grader Viktoria Kravets has had to set aside textbooks for now and is helping her countrymen as a volunteer registering refugees with Tvory Volunteering Centre, which works with Molodvizh, a peer-to-peer youth organization and partner. About a third of her friends and relatives have left Ukraine. But she's staying: "I never thought I would be involved in this kind of activity – helping hundreds of people a day looking for transport to the border or distracting them from horrible thoughts.”

A Ukrainian refugee shares her journey escaping war in her homeland. Nataliia "Natasha" arrived in Lisbon, Portugal with her daughter at the end of a daunting journey, when she had to leave her husband behind. She tells her emotional story to .

Research by in Mongolia shows a migration ban aimed at reducing overpopulation in Ulaanbaatar only increased the vulnerabilities of the capital city’s urban migrants. IOM found that rural-to-urban migration improved the lives of most internal migrants in Mongolia, providing them with more and better job opportunities and increasing their incomes. Due to development discrepancies between rural areas and the capital, Mongolia has experienced a dramatic rural-to-urban migration flow, raising Ulaanbaatar’s population to almost 1.5 million – half the country’s total.

Youth groups made up of Rakhine and Rohingya members are coming up with solutions to shared challenges in Myanmar’s ethnically divided Rakhine State.

Almost an entire generation of Syrian children are growing up as refugees in neighbouring countries who have either never seen or have no memory of their homeland.

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The World Food Programme is calling for US$570 million as it kicks off an emergency response to the Ukraine crisis. The organization is putting critical supplies in place as the UN says more than a million refugees have crossed into neighbouring countries. Ljudmila, 70, could not bear to leave her cat  behind as she embarked on a six-day journey to Poland.  is working with , the UN Refugee Agency, to assist 300,000 people outside Ukraine’s borders. 

"As conflict and tragedy strike Ukraine, the world is watching." Stand with UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett and today, to help us stay and deliver life saving aid to people fleeing Ukraine.

Rockets have been “raining down” on Ukraine’s cities and hundreds of people have been killed or injured since the Russian military offensive began, said the UN Secretary-General, at the launch of a $1.7 billion to provide urgently-needed assistance. António Guterres’s comments came as latest UN data indicated that 677,000 people have fled Ukraine since 24 February: “United Nations agencies and our partners are now working 24-7 to assess humanitarian needs and scale up aid, particularly to women, children, older people and those with disabilities.”

While the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines last year raised hopes of a way out of the pandemic, it also brought fresh waves of rumour and myth. Seeing the need to counter such myths, Laban and fellow volunteers, took action. They received guidance and verified information on the vaccine from UNHCR, to help them fight misinformation and answer the many questions people had. As COVID-19 spread, their network of 120 volunteers from the Great Step Initiative, a community-based organization that provides mental health services to refugees in Nigeria, swung into action to fight misinformation.