John,
What would you do if you were forced to flee your home during the cold winter months? Nowhere to stay, and no place to keep warm. What would you do?
This is the reality facing families in places like Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Syria — enduring a bitterly cold winter as they continue to deal with the ongoing effects of conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of these unthinkably difficult circumstances, displaced people continue to care for themselves and their loved ones with incredible courage.
Each year, the IRC springs into action to help keep families and refugees warm during the difficult winter months. Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, the IRC is able to provide the food, shelter, fuel and medicine that families need. Here are just a few examples of how supporting the IRC makes an
impact this winter:
Ukraine
A child displaced by fighting in Ukraine receives a warm blanket from the IRC.
Recent fighting has damaged energy infrastructure in Ukraine, causing massive blackouts and plunging as many as 6 million people into hardship.
As winter arrives, many families are living in damaged homes without insulation or access to power or heating. The IRC is scaling up our response and distributing cash along with essential winter items like blankets and heaters that families urgently need.
Afghanistan
Latifa (55) carries coal to the kitchen. The coals serve as the family's only source of heat — they'll sit together under a table and blanket to keep warm.
With jobs in agriculture and construction halted during the harsh winter months, families in Afghanistan will be stretched especially thin. The global cost of living crisis has hit Afghan families hard — many are forced to make impossible choices between heat and food.
In Kabul, hospitals are reporting a 55% increase in pneumonia patients under five years old as families struggle to heat their homes. The IRC is supporting health clinics treating sick and malnourished children affected by this humanitarian emergency. Our teams are also working around the clock to provide emergency cash so people can get the winter supplies they need.
Syria
For many displaced families in Syria, makeshift shelters like these are the only protection against the cold and snow during the winter months.
In Syria and neighboring countries, 1.7 million displaced Syrians — predominantly women and children — are living in makeshift camps with shelters that are ill-equipped to protect against winter's snow and near-freezing temperatures.
The IRC partners with local and diaspora groups to ensure that Syrians are able to access medicine and other essential supplies, which are badly needed as temperatures fall. We are also providing food, health services, and emergency cash assistance to help displaced families meet their immediate needs.
Millions of refugees and other people reeling from humanitarian crises this winter will turn to the IRC for support. We cannot thank our supporters enough for all that you do to make this incredible work possible.
If you'd like to make a special contribution today to help us scale up our winter response in places like Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Syria, you can do so here. All gifts will be 2X matched up to $2.5 million.
Thank you for supporting children and families in need this winter.
— Hank, IRC
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