KILIS, Turkey — On March 24, the Turkish army took control of Syria’s Afrin province, with objective of securing the strategic border region from People's Protection Units (YPG) forces that fought in the US-led battle against the Islamic State in northern Syria.

As the Syrian war enters its eighth year, the bloodshed continues to rattle lives inside the war-torn country while forcing a continuing refugee spillover into the neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. But as Ankara continues to advance in Syria, the climate in Kilis, one of Turkey’s most strategic border towns, seems strangely harmonious. Unlike most other such cities in the region, Syrian refugees are living amicably there alongside the host community.

Rama al-Sheikh opened the door with a smile. She is one of the young Syrian refugee volunteers who teaches Turkish at a center called Kareemat in the heart of Kilis. She says it represents hope and integrity for the local Syrian refugee women.

Kareemat was officially formed in 2014 by Rama’s older sister Najlaa. What started as regular gatherings for Syrian women in her modest home soon became a full-scale community center for refugees that was initially supported by international aid organizations such as the Danish Refugee Council and private donors.