Alone Among Thousands

Hey everyone! I hope your week is going fabulously well and that the weather is warming up for you wherever you are - we're currently stuck in a rut where March continues to hold onto winter, but there have been a few warm Spring days :) I wanted to bring something to your attention that I believe to be of the utmost importance to address - refugee camps. Now I know this can be a very controversial topic when discussing where refugees should live and how to aid countries so there are fewer refugees, but something that I think most all of us can agree on is that refugees have it ROUGH.

A glimpse at the organization of the Syrian refugee camp

They've lost their homes, their possessions, their security, and

often they have lost their friends and family. Displaced from their homeland, refugees are plagued with uncertainty as to whether they will be safe and able to make a life for themselves. There are millions of refugees all over the world, and over 2.6 million live in refugee camps, with millions more living in temporary homemade shelters1. Understand as well, that the living conditions in the majority of these camps are terrible, and because many of them are so large it is very difficult to find a system to keep the camp clean, safe, and seem like an actual place to live. A specific issue within refugee camps that needs to be addressed are the shelters that refugee residents live in, as well as matters of safety within the camp.

                No Privacy

“In a small space with six people sleeping is rough. Tents in this camp are very nearby. We cannot talk about many things here. Very often our sleep gets disturbed either by children’s cries and people shouting. I wake up in the dead of the night to take a bath as there are no walls, or enclosures, near the tube-well. Many women bathe at night so I have to wait my turn."2

Tents and living quarters are tightly packed and offer little to no privacy.

Can you even imagine? Think about it, the vast majority of these refugees do not have a stable shelter, just tents and temporary establishments. Not only that, but these camps are filled to the brim with individuals, food is scarce and space is very limited. There is hardly any privacy, as many people are confined to the refugee camps, and their homes are shared with many other refugees trapped in similar circumstances. A necessary improvement to refugee camps is to restore the privacy of these individuals, and to build homes where they can live in greater comfort than their current situations provide. The best way to achieve this is to convert these refugee camps into permanent towns and establishments.

Obviously this is a massive endeavor, but you can help! One of the primary obstacles for this project is funding for the materials and labor to create stable housing and restore privacy, but with your generous donations to local non profit organizations, we can do our part to alleviate the suffering and deplorable conditions within these camps. Organizations should refocus their efforts and gather volunteers to teach refugees within these camps how to build stable structures that offer protection, security, and privacy. The funds that you charitably donate are essential so that sufficient stable building materials will be available for volunteers and refugees to start building their homes, and give themselves a little more control over their lives again. Refugee camps need to become stable, as well as self-sustaining so that more permanent structures and towns can replace these unstable and disease-stricken camps.

How You Can Help!

As amazing as it would be to organize or join humanitarian aid trips to provide relief to these suffering refugees, sometimes that isn't always ideal in the hectic events of our lives (however if you are interested in doing so, click here, or here), so here are some other ways that you can help people in need!

Your donation will greatly aid refugees worldwide!

Donate 

There are many charitable organizations that send relief efforts and aid to refugee camps all over the world! If you are unable to donate your time, then financial donations are always welcome to provide food and resources to refugees worldwide. Just click on the links below to donate!

Doctors Without Borders

American Refugee Committee

American Red Cross

International Rescue Committee

Atlantic Humanitarian Relief

Organize

You can also organize your own fundraisers or events to bring attention to the deplorable conditions that these refugees are living in, and donate the proceeds to local non profit organizations or directly to humanitarian relief efforts. Share your voice and let other people know that this issue must be addressed! Through sharing your time, effort, and donations, we can all make a great difference and make this world a better place for everyone to live in.