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UNICEF Survival Gifts provide life-saving help to the children facing a hard winter in the Middle East
Publication Date: 2017/12/14
Toronto, December 14, 2017 – The start of winter—with its freezing temperatures, storms and snowfall—means a new set of challenges facing children and families affected by conflict in the Middle East. These children, caught in an unending war barely have enough to make it through the day as it is. In Iraq, Syria, the State of Palestine and neighbouring countries welcoming refugees, makeshift shelters and camps offer very little protection against the bitter cold of winter. To date, UNICEF has received less than 20 per cent of the US$73 million needed to offer the 1.5 million children and their families at risk the life-saving winter supplies and assistance they need.
By offering a UNICEF Survival Gift, Canadians can support UNICEF’s work in the region and provide children affected by the crisis with warm blankets and other much needed supplies and services for the coming winter. UNICEF Survival Gifts are real gifts with real impact that are sent to the most vulnerable children around the world, helping them survive and thrive. They include things like water purification tablets to provide families with clean water for drinking, bathing and household use and thermal blankets to protect children against cold temperatures during the winter months.
"This holiday season, it is important that we remember our actions can make a very real difference. Every UNICEF Survival Gift sold helps UNICEF offer children protection from the cold, the food they need to survive and a glimmer of hope. At UNICEF, we believe no child should suffer from the cold of winter, and that every moment and every gesture counts when it comes to keeping children warm," explains Simon Chorley, Acting Deputy Director of International Programs at UNICEF Canada.
To keep children safe, healthy and warm, UNICEF brings people in the region blankets, life-saving food, clean drinking water and medicines. All of these gifts and more are available at UNICEF Canada's online Survival Gifts store at www.survivalgifts.ca. The priority is to reach the most vulnerable children, including the youngest, poorest and those living in besieged or hard-to-reach areas.
About UNICEF
UNICEF is the world’s leading humanitarian organization focused on children. We work in the most challenging areas to provide protection, healthcare and immunizations, education, safe water and sanitation and nutrition. As part of the United Nations, our unrivaled reach spans more than 190 countries and territories, ensuring we are on the ground to help the most disadvantaged children. While part of the UN system, UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations to finance our life-saving work. Please visit unicef.ca and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.