More than 4 million Syrians have moved to Turkey since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. 500,000 of these Syrians are registered by the Turkish authorities in the city of Gaziantep, a city located close to the Syrian border.

Turkey implements a temporary protection system for Syrian refugees, which grants a right of legal stay as well as some level of access to basic rights and services. While the war is still ongoing in Syria, Turkish legislation constantly changes. This adds to the uncertainty to the Syrian children’s access to education.  

The Syrian population in Gaziantep has created a close-knit community. Nevertheless, the integration between Syrian and Turkish people still poses

a challenge, the most important obstacle is the language barrier.

Gaziantep is divided into neighbourhoods differing in social class, ethnicity, and economic conditions. Rainbow is based in the Akyol district where families are often isolated in damaged houses with limited access to basic services such as electricity. Here, in Rainbow’s neighbourhood, we support Syrian children who come from a disadvantaged background.

Why Gaziantep