“Winter assistance will be like a blessing to me; without it, the situation will be very hard”. Huda, Syrian refugee in Lebanon

With these words, Huda answered our question, “How is winter assistance essential and helpful to you?” For refugee families, winter is not just the weather and seasonal change, it’s a set of evolving challenges of hardships. In reality, words fall short when we try to convey the reality and harshness of winter on refugee families. How can we showcase the struggles they face every day?

When we visit families, we see it in the eyes of a worried father, who spent the night trying to warm his child with nothing but a lonely blanket while their shelter struggles to stand in the face of the heavy rain and wind.

We see it in the hands of the elderly, who shiver from sickness and cold and wrestle to lift them for prayer or to hold their grandchildren who went to bed without a warm meal.

For millions of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), staying warm, having medicine, and having a warm meal for all family members is acontinuous challenge, and this truth is heartbreaking.

Now, you might be asking: how can I help? How can I assist refugees in facing their winter fears?

UNHCR has launched its winter campaign, which aims to help millions of refugees and IDPs in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt. The majority of UNHCR’s planned activities for winter constitute the distribution of seasonal cash assistance that enables families to prepare for winter by purchasing most urgent items such as winter clothes, heaters, fuel, shelter support materials, among other necessities.

You may wish to consider contributing part of your year-end Zakat to support refugees and IDPs prepare for winter. 100% of your Zakat contribution will be distributed as cash assistance directly to the most vulnerable refugee and internally displaced families, helping them secure shelter, warmth, food, and medicine during the long winter days.

As Huda said, this assistance for many families is a blessing, so we kindly urge you to give them the gift of warmth. Any amount you provide can help bring hope and peace to a family for one or many winter night.

During the first half of this year, Zakat we received via the Refugee Zakat Fund helped provide more than 645,141 refugees and IDPs with critical assistance, including seasonal cash assistance to help them stay warm and safe during last winter.

Will you warm their hearts this winter with your Zakat?