Having a safe and comfortable home is not inevitable. With the situation of climate change becoming increasingly serious in recent years, extreme weather such as floods, cyclones and droughts are happening more frequently than ever, with many even occur in conflict areas. The ruthlessness of natural disasters has severely shattered the homes of many, turning them into refugees in only one single night.
Though many of them arrive at the refugee camps safely, numerous shelters are unable to protect refugees under the impact of extreme weather and the degradation of temporary shelters, exposing refugees’ lives in jeopardy when natural disasters hit.
“It would take just one storm to wash us all away.”
— Ayesha Begum, Rohingya refugee in Myanmar
“The monsoon is coming and I’m scared that the wind will blow away the roof. There are shelters above mine that would fall on us if there is a landslide.”
Jhura is a 28-year-old Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh. Due to the topography of the area where the refugees have settled in Bangladesh, many shelters are built on the side of a steep hill. Every time when monsoon hits, the rise in water level increases the frequency of floods and landslides, putting refugees’ lives at risk. Jhura worries that the coming monsoon will destroy their home and her children will suffer from water-borne diseases that pose detrimental effect on their health.
Your help can protect refugees from natural disasters:
Blankets and Sleeping Mats for 10 Families
Families forced to flee from their homes leave everything they own behind. This gift provides warmth and comfort as soon as they reach a refugee camp.
For just HK$1,500, you can provide the warmth and comfort of blankets and sleeping mats for 10 families that might otherwise sleep on the cold hard ground.
A UNHCR Tent for Family
For refugee families who have been forced to flee their homes, lack of access to safe and warm shelter is a genuine risk, as many are forced to live in shelters not equipped to be waterproof or weatherproof.
A UNHCR family tent for HK$4,100 is built to be weatherproof in both hot and cold weather conditions, and will last for a year, with room for five to sleep and to live, so that they can be kept safe as soon as they arrive at a refugee camp.
A Temporary Refugee Housing Unit for a Family
This all-weather, temporary refugee housing unit was designed precisely to help refugees fleeing their homes. It is made of a lightweight steel frame, roof and wall panels, and it has doors and windows, a floor covering, solar energy system (lamp and telephone charger) and a strong anchoring system to keep the unit safely to the ground.
For HK$11,170, a family of five does not need to sleep on the cold ground as soon as they arrive at a refugee camp. There are lights to switch on at night in the unit too.
“Shelter is the foundation stone for refugees to survive and recover, and should be considered a non-negotiable human right.”
— Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
“It’s a lot safer than my old house.”
— Sayedul Hoque, refugee in Bangladesh
“We’re safe at last. Finally, I can sleep soundly.”
— Taslima Begum, Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh
Start transforming refugees’ lives today:
You can furnish refugee families with a warm and comfortable living environment.
You can provide a refugee family with a temporary tent.
You can provide a refugee family with a temporary housing unit so they do not have to sleep on the cold ground and have lights to switch on at night.
How does “Shop for Refugees” work?
Gifts in “Shop for Refugees” are symbolic items that represent UNHCR’s lifesaving assistance and services all around the world. When you choose to send vital and empowering gifts from an array of options, ranging from food, clean water, shelter, medical to school supplies, the income generated from “Shop for Refugees” will be used to support UNHCR’s works to protect people forced to flee, find solutions to resolve refugee issues and ensure that everyone has the right to seek asylum.