Sharjah
The Big Heart Foundation (TBHF) has donated $245,000 (Dh899,860) to provide relief assistance for thousands of displaced families in northern Iraq, it was announced.
The amount which was raised through their ‘Warm Hearts’ campaign launched in January 2017, will help supply emergency shelter kits for the homeless and seal-off kits for those living in unfinished buildings or damaged houses for nearly 2,000 families (around 11,400 people).
The Sharjah-based global humanitarian charity said the amount is a result of contributions from organisations and individuals to the initiative, which was launched by the foundation in collaboration with the UNHCR to provide winter supplies, shelter and emergency relief services to thousands of displaced men, women and children in Mosul.
For more than six months, Mosul has been the focus of intense fighting that has forced families from their homes. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the number of displaced people in the city as a result of the conflict could reach more than 1.3 million.
The internally displaced families have had to leave Mosul to escape the war torn area which has left them without shelter and exposed to severe winter elements.
To address the humanitarian issue, the campaign was launched in line with the directives of Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. Shaikh Jawaher is also the Chairperson of the TBHF and UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, to aid displaced families in Mosul.
Mariam Al Hammadi, Director of TBHF, said: “The most critical issue we face in Iraq is one of finding winter supplies, shelter and accommodation for the thousands of people who have been forced to flee their homes in what is a humanitarian disaster. Many of Mosul’s women, children and elderly people are not even able to make it to the camps and schools that have been set up –— they literally have nowhere to go.”
The funds raised by TBHF through the Warm Hearts campaign will ensure that families without homes or adequate shelter are provided with winter supplies and emergency kits that will shield them from the elements and provide them with privacy. They will also facilitate separation in community buildings and shared spaces where multiple families are residing, as well as allow for the setting up of washrooms, showers and communal kitchens.
With 3.4 million homeless people, Iraq now has the third largest population of internally displaced people in the world. Half of the population is composed of women and an estimated 51% is under the age of 18 years. In recent months, some 213,000 people across the country have fled their homes.
