Winter is never kind to those who already suffers.
Syria, a land ravaged by conflicts and wars in the past 8 years, could not escape the brisk winter wind that has been cruelly hitting more than 6,000,000 internally displaced Syrians since November 2018. More than 70% of the population lives in extreme impoverishment with more than 1,000,000 people having no roof but a temporary tent. Winter brings on the challenge to encounter blizzard, rainstorms, and fierce wind. Under the circumstances of food shortage, lack of heating equipment, and temperature as low as -10 °C, the primary concern for refugees’ survival is to get warm and keep warm.
From November 2018 to March 2019, CEDAR Fund partnered with humanitarian organization Middle East Revive and Thrive (MERATH) [1] to provide winter aids to Syrian refugees and vulnerable people through the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches [2], including blankets, heating stoves, warm clothing, and cash subsidies for heating fuels. With the help of CEDAR and other organizations, the relief action executed by MERATH in Homs, Hama, Damascus, Tartous and regions gave aids to 2,172 families, benefiting approximately 11,138 people.
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[1] Since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011, MERATH has been serving the internally displaced families within Syria and Syrian refugees in Lebanon through emergency relief, livelihood, health and educational support.
[2] The Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches includes members of Protestant church from Sudan, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Iran etc.