Tag: Emergency

Somalia is currently grappling with flash floods, and the Islamic Relief Somalia team is actively responding to this emergency. In the Gedo region’s Bardhere District, these floods have wreaked havoc, claiming lives and displacing thousands of people.

Flash Floods in Bardhere District:

The sudden floods in the Gedo region of Somalia have reportedly killed 14 individuals, displaced 8,000 people, and caused extensive damage to property, including household shelters. While flooding is a yearly occurrence in this region, this year’s rains arrived earlier than expected, catching residents off guard.

Impact on Affected Communities:

The flash floods have led to the destruction of property, farmland, and shelters. Displaced individuals now find themselves living in makeshift shelters on higher ground, contending with overcrowding, a lack of clean water, and limited access to sanitation facilities.

Islamic Relief’s Ongoing Efforts and Emergency Response:

Islamic Relief was already operational in the affected area, working to support families displaced by drought. However, the flash floods have exacerbated the situation, increasing the risk of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) outbreaks.

To address this urgent crisis, Islamic Relief Somalia has initiated an immediate response, aiming to provide unconditional cash transfers, non-food items (NFIs), water trucking, and shelters for 5,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).

A Continuing Drought Crisis:

It is crucial to note that the current floods are limited to three states near the rivers, while other states continue to suffer from a prolonged drought. These recent rains do not signify the end of the drought, which requires sustained rainfall to alleviate the situation.

Islamic Relief is committed to supporting the people of Somalia as they navigate the challenges posed by both flash floods and the ongoing drought. Our team remains dedicated to providing assistance and resources to those in need during these difficult times.

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An important part of Islamic Relief’s work in Türkiye and Syria in light of the devastating Feb 6 Earthquake has been to supply emergency accommodation for the thousands of displaced victims.

In this video, Br Salah gives a tour of our camp in Nurdağı, Türkiye, highlighting the key factors we take into consideration when creating these emergency living spaces.

Islamic Relief Australia is one of the few local charities who have been able to respond swiftly, efficiently and from the onset of the emergency, on account of our existing and established networks and offices in the region.

Give today to provide urgent relief to those in need.

In the thick of winter, a cold wave is sweeping over Bangladesh. With many cities recording record-low temperatures, harsh winds and heavy fog daily, day-to-day life in Bangladesh has become more unbearable.

Suspended public transport, no warm clothing and overcrowded hospitals are now the norms this winter for the people of Bangladesh. The struggle for survival has ramped up, especially for the nation’s most vulnerable.

Bangladesh’s poor worst hit

The harsh winter weather has caused immense strife for low-income families, forcing them to stay indoors and forgo their main source of income.

Stories of mothers and fathers unable to leave home for work in the morning are not uncommon. Severe weather conditions have suspended ferry operations on vital river routes, such as the Daulatdia–Paturia and Aricha–Kazirhat. Hours of delays are causing long tailbacks on the highways connected by these river routes, pushing thousands of people out of work and struggling to care for their children and elderly.

For those that can work, the cold weather and biting winds leave daily wage earners and farmers in the northern districts suffering, as a vast majority don’t have the means to buy fuel or adequate clothing to keep warm during winter.

With most of the population unable or struggling to work due to the intense winter weather, poor communities in Bangladesh face an increased risk of contracting illnesses and diseases with little to no support.

Winter illnesses are rapidly spreading among the population

As the winter weather conditions worsen, patients suffering from cold, flu, and other winter illness are overwhelming Bangladeshi hospitals.

Many medical centres are over capacity, as groups of hundreds around Bangladesh are in desperate need of medical aid. Numbers of diarrhoea, spread by the rotavirus, in particular, are high, especially among children, who are also most susceptible to cold-related diseases.

The lack of access to health facilities and medical knowledge in Bangladesh is also leaving countless vulnerable families in the dark. Many parents are also unknowing of how severe cold-related diseases can be and are bringing their children to the hospital only after the illness intensifies and reaches its last phase. If this continues, this winter could put Bangladesh’s future at further risk.

Your support can give hope to struggling communities

As food and energy prices continue to rise, more and more people in countries like Bangladesh are pushed into poverty. In winter especially, when the plummeting temperatures and harsh weather leave poor families with little sustenance or shelter, the world’s most vulnerable face an even greater struggle for survival.

In this fight for families to feed and keep their loved ones warm and safe, Islamic Relief Australia is on the ground delivering vital survival items, such as warm clothes, blankets, and heaters, to vulnerable communities.

This winter, with more people than ever before in desperate need, Islamic Relief is determined to reach and save thousands more individuals in over 17 countries with our Winter Appeal, including the people of Bangladesh. 

What do you do in Australia when faced with an emergency? For refugees and new immigrants in Australia, it can be challenging to find disaster recovery programs that cater to diverse cultural and linguistic needs. 

At Islamic Relief, we firmly believe in giving everyone the right to feel empowered and protected, especially during times of crisis. From what numbers to call and who to turn to, all communities should have the ability to rebuild and recover after any natural disaster, whether it be floods, droughts or bushfires.

That’s why, with the support of the NSW Government’s Community Resilience Innovation Program (CRIP), Islamic Relief is here to provide programs that provide communities with the tools they need to navigate through local emergencies end-to-end, from prevention to recovery. And we’re delighted to share with you a video of this journey so far.

As winter storms and below-zero temperatures hit the Middle East, thousands of Syrians are fighting to stay warm amidst ongoing conflict and economic strife.

In North-West Syria, 2 million people are displaced or living without adequate shelter. In unpredictable, cold weather, Syrian families suffer in makeshift tents, unfinished buildings, and sheds. These poor housing conditions, combined with the nation’s worsening crisis continue to uproot lives and livelihoods.

Families brace for another harsh Syrian winter in dire conditions

Life in crisis-stricken Syria is difficult even at the best of times, and the winter season is the worst. For many families, winter’s heavy snowfall, widespread flooding, leaking tents and muddy roads make their poor living conditions even dire, severely impacting their physical and mental health. 

These increased health risks, combined with Syria’s deteriorating economic conditions and increasing prices, make it harder for families to survive another winter. And as Syrians face their twelfth winter in displacement, their lack of winter support will force them to resort to harmful coping mechanisms. Including spending less on food and medicine and burning clothes or plastic materials that cause toxic fumes and fire hazards, just to keep warm.

Increased winter appeal support is urgently needed to protect vulnerable Syrians

As millions of displaced and poor Syrians continue to battle freezing temperatures, increased winterisation support is desperately needed. A timely winterisation response will mitigate protection risks, including for children, older persons, and other vulnerable groups, and reduce negative coping mechanisms.

With sufficient funding, our international community can help keep those displaced warm with enough fuel, cash assistance and insulating items such as winter clothing, high thermal blankets and carpets during the coldest months. Where organisations like Islamic Relief Australia are on the ground in Syria, providing lifesaving aid to displaced families living in overcrowded camps throughout the harsh winter months.

Families like Um Ibrahim’s are in dire need of aid

In the many camps scattered across the north of Syria, Islamic Relief is delivering immediate winter support. Um Ibrahim and her 5 children are among those living in a camp, with only a tent providing scant protection from the bitter weather.

“After we were displaced from our home, we lived in very difficult conditions,” says the 43-year-old. “Winter is like an annual catastrophe for us due to the torrential rain and snow. Rainwater seeps into my tent.

“One time the water flooded our tent and we had to move into our neighbour’s tent until it dried up. The tent was torn for about 2 years, I had to sew it daily to try to fix it as we cannot afford a new one.”

“My children and I feel very cold. We don’t have a breadwinner in our family, so we cannot always turn on the heating. We cannot afford firewood so we go to the nearby mountain to look for a few branches we can use for heating. We have been suffering a lot: we burned some plastic waste for heat and the harmful smoke entered our bodies.”

“Winter in a Syria camp is a catastrophe, but Islamic Relief is our lifeline”

Keeping her children warm is a constant worry for the mother-of-5. But thanks to generous Islamic Relief supporters, last winter was warmer for Um Ibrahim and her children.

“Islamic Relief has provided us with winter heating materials, and thanks to your support we can now turn on heating every day. My children can feel warm and comfortable in this harsh season.

“I hope that you can keep supporting us, we are very happy with the heating materials and we hope that one day we can get a new tent.”

Humanity, as living beings, needs water to survive. We need water to drink to survive. We need water for our crops and livestock to eat and earn a living. Yet, in so many parts of the world, communities struggle to find clean water. Especially in countries like Bangladesh, where water comes from a faraway source and families spend days seeking it from sources that may not be clean in the first place.

Historically, Bangladesh has been a water-rich nation. Home to a network of hundreds of rivers, the country boasts the world’s largest river delta, the Ganges Delta. But climate change and increasingly polluted waterways have left Bangladesh in a worsening water crisis.

Climate change takes its toll on Bangladesh

As the climate crisis worsens, Bangladesh faces a disastrous future of unpredictable rainfall and major flooding. In June this year, a massive flood killed at least 22 people in Bangladesh and stranded another 4 million. Yet, reports have shown rainfall rates in Bangladesh have only fallen each year in the past two decades, a worrying decline that has been noted since the early 1950s. Crops and poorly built housing and infrastructure cannot thrive in these uncertain weather conditions.

The geographical makeup of Bangladesh has also left its population highly vulnerable to sea-level rise. As global warming continues to contribute to rising sea levels, many more Bangladeshis will be without homes and clean water as groundwater and surface water father inland become saltier as a result.

Millions of people in Bangladesh are without a reliable water supply

In addition to rising sea levels making natural water resources in Bangladesh undrinkable, these reserves are also severely polluted. Bangladesh’s rocks contain high levels of the poisonous substance arsenic, which leaches naturally into groundwater and contaminates irrigated crops and soils. Some 29 million people in Bangladesh have been found to be exposed to arsenic, mostly from contaminated shallow wells that constitute the backbone of the country’s rural water supply.

Sanitation is also an issue. Millions of litres of untreated sewage and industrial wastewater is is often released into surface waters and rivers across Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city, alone each day. A 2019 survey coordinated by Bangladesh’s government and the United Nations children’s charity UNICEF also concluded that 82% of the population is exposed to water contaminated with the bacteria, E.coli. Bangladesh urgently needs a solution to ensure its populations are able to access the clean water they deserve.

Islamic Relief Australia is launching a WASH Program to help the people of Bangladesh

Islamic Relief Australia is launching a WASH Program (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) to help grant the people of Bangladesh their right to clean water and good health. WASH is an important aspect of any holistic development initiative and is recognised as part of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). Having access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities are important building blocks for further development initiatives such as education, health, nutrition, and livelihoods.

Currently, Islamic Relief Australia is working closely with our branch in Bangladesh, to solve the nation’s chronic water and sanitation problems. This includes building stronger water wells that reach and grant better access to sanitation and hygiene benefits for more communities across Bangladesh.

Islamic Relief is building sustainable water wells in Bangladesh

Islamic Relief is committed to building better quality, more sustainable, safer and more durable wells across Bangladesh, even in hard-to-reach areas.

The quality of our wells standout above other charities for being rigorously checked, flood-proof and extremely long-lasting. In building wells, we also ensure that communities have a complete WASH solution that includes hygiene training, toilet facilities and clean water. Our water well price includes the construction of a toilet for the community, as well as hygiene kits and training on maintaining good hygiene.

Globally there are 2.3 billion people without sanitation facilities and 844 million people without access to safe and clean drinking water. We cannot solve the water crisis by simply drilling wells and installing low-quality water pumps. Vulnerable communities in countries like Bangladesh deserve long-term water solutions that help them achieve a brighter future.

In the words of the Prophet (PBUH), “The best charity is giving water to drink.” (Ahmad)

Within Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina is a huge need for winter essentials. Already struggling with the aftermath of civil wars, lack of employment opportunities, ongoing corruption and a mass exodus of youth departing for western Europe, the incoming cold season brings forth another layer of dread for Bosnians.

As temperatures drop as low as -30 degrees during the cold winter months, Bosnians are struggling to stay warm amidst a power supply crisis and an uncertain future.

Hiking power source prices cause further distress for struggling Bosnians

Over the past decade, wood pellets, firewood and gas have been popular power sources for heating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But with the prices of these fuels skyrocketing this year, many Bosnians are switching to the cheaper alternative of electricity, at the risk of overwhelming the country’s power network.

Electricity prices for households in Bosnia are subsidised by the state and are a tenth of international market prices. By contrast, the price of gas has increased nearly 100% since last winter and wood pellets have tripled in price. The rising costs as growing so expensive that entire apartment blocks in large Bosnian cities like Banja Luka have already forgone their usual power source accounts due to high bills.

But Bosnia’s power network is not designed for high electricity consumption by households. Bosnia exports about 25% of its electricity. It is also the Balkans’ sole exporter of electricity, with two-thirds going to neighbours Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia.

A massive switch to electrical appliances for heating could bring Bosnian’s power system down and leave neighbouring countries without a steady supply of electricity, as well as hurt their own economy. But with a struggling population and alternative power prices only looking to increase, Bosnia and Herzegovina have few other choices.

Islamic Relief is giving struggling families a fighting chance to deal with the cold weather

As temperatures plummet and the cost of living continues to rise, the poorest families face a particularly desperate winter. Islamic Relief is a lifeline for thousands of families across 17 countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Mevlida lives with her 2 children.

“In the war I lost 2 brothers and my father,” says Mevlida, recalling the horrors of the Bosnian War in the 1990s. “I found and buried my brothers, but I never found my father.”

Since her husband died of a heart attack, Mevlida and her children have been living with extended family, but the mother-of-two is unemployed and it is hard to make ends meet.

“My oldest son does some seasonal work and mows grass to earn some money. He is a metal welder, but no one is hiring for that right now. He has tried to get a job as a merchant or waiter, but to no avail. I look after our cow; we have milk and a little cheese.”

“The clothes, shoes and firewood provided by Islamic Relief helped us survive winter”

Life is difficult throughout the year, but in winter the family’s situation becomes even more dire. That’s why, this winter, Islamic Relief aims to reach thousands more families like Mevlida with vital survival items like warm clothes, fuel, and blankets.

“Winter is always hard for us; the weather is very cold and harsh. There is not much work that can be done to earn money. Everyone is clearing the snow from their doors and their homes. Our expenses are highest during this season, and we cannot earn much.”

The winter survival assistance the family received last year made a difference, Mevlida says.

“Islamic Relief has helped us a lot with packages of clothes, winter shoes, and firewood. This has helped us a lot, thank you so much. I want to thank you for your help, and for helping everyone’s children.”

The future of Albania is hanging by a thread. Astronomical cost of living, widespread corruption, a massive earthquake and the aftermath of a global pandemic have driven people out of the country in droves. And, with winter coming, mass emigration is only looking to increase as citizens struggle to find work and enough food to feed their families.

Since the fall of communism in 1991, nearly 40% of Albania’s population has left the country, heading for countries like Greece, Italy, Germany, the Nordic countries, the UK and the US. Many Albanian cities, towns and villages that used to be bustling with stable economies are now becoming ghost towns. Kukësi in the north of Albania has seen more than 53% of its citizens leave. The cities of Shkodra, Fieri, Durrësi and Vlorë have each lost more than 15% of their population in the past ten years. Villages, in particular, have seen massive numbers leave, from Narta in the south to Zogaj in the north.

The Albanian government provides little support

Throughout the years, the government has offered very little support for people who were struggling. More and more of Albania’s population are below the poverty line, as costs and inflation, particularly with respect to food, electricity, oil and gas, continue to rise. Even as hundreds of people were injured, killed and left homeless from a mass earthquake in 2019, corruption and nepotism within the country have left limited domestic aid for the Albanian population during times of crisis.

Likewise, property rights in Albania are also extremely precarious and are a major cause of economic and social strife in the country. Through legal loopholes or political connections, the state can claim any land back or destroy any investment in the land without much notice. People are having to pay bribes to keep their property. Organised crime, corruption and loan sharking have flourished. And European companies are not investing in Albania because of these issues surrounding land.

With the lack of local and international government investment to invest in alternative industries, many people are without jobs and the younger generation leaving as they see no future here. Albanians have lost hope that things will get better any time soon. Many educated and ambitious Albanians are looking for a better life elsewhere, while those too poor to move are left to bear the brunt of Albania’s spiralling economy and a sombre winter.

Winter has pushed the world’s most vulnerable people to the brink of survival

This winter, many of the world’s most vulnerable people will be pushed to the edge of survival. In our mission to alleviate suffering from the poor and needy, Islamic Relief Australia is providing over 72,000 winter kits, packed with essential survival items, and supporting over 455,000 people this winter season. With our Winter Appeal, we aim to provide a lifeline for thousands of families in 17 countries, including Albania, where mother-of-3 Valbona lives with her parents.

“We face challenges with warmth, food, and shelter,” says 33-year-old Valbona, who has been struggling to provide for her children. “Every morning I wake up to prepare food, and sometimes I do not eat myself because there is not enough food for all of us. There is a social centre where the children can sometimes get lunch.

“We had to move into my parent’s home as I can’t afford to live in a rented house. Now, we share 2 small rooms between 6 family members. As my children grow, they need stationery, clothes, and food which I can’t provide as I don’t have a job.

“My children and I do not receive any orphan-related support from the state, nor do we get any social assistance for being unemployed. The only consistent income we get is my mother’s 90 Euro disability assistance. My mother also sells some crafts, handmade products like socks, on the street, despite her health not being good.”

“I was scared about this winter, but now our home can be warm”

Last winter, Valbona was desperately worried for her family – until Islamic Relief stepped in.

“The only help my family has received is from Islamic Relief. Before we got the wood for heating, I was scared about this winter, but now our home can be warm. Feeling warmth during the long, dark winter is a joy.

“My family and I are very happy. We have been in need, and you have supported us. I don’t have enough words to express what the food and wood distribution means to us. I don’t have to worry for a month, and I can save money for medicines for my children.

“We would like to express our deep gratitude to all the donors, and pray for your health, happiness, and success in everything. May your kindness and generosity return to you a hundredfold, may your strength and energy grow, and may your hopes become a reality.”

In Nepal, winter marks a season of further suffering within a country with low economic prospects, hard-to-reach areas, natural disasters and severe underemployment.

Of the people living in Nepal, 25 per cent are living below the poverty line. High food prices, earthquakes, unemployment and limited access to resources have left around 5 million people in Nepal undernourished and devastated. People are out of homes, children are dying and women are becoming more vulnerable to gender-based crimes.

During winter, the effects of Nepal’s poor economy are especially pronounced. Nepal’s poor struggle with limited resources to survive the cold and hardly any access to health care. Their children often miss school because they don’t have proper warm clothes, leaving them vulnerable to serious cold weather-related illnesses. As a result, each year, these poor families in Nepal are unable to meet their basic needs nor protect their children and elderly from the elements.

Emergency aid is essential to their survival

Thanks to the generosity and kindness of our supporters, Islamic Relief is delivering vital items to 455,000 vulnerable people to help them survive the harsh winter weather. Among them are people like Suggani Nesha, 73, who faces a bleak winter in Nepal.

“My husband and I get some money from the social security fund from the government which helps us survive,” says Suggani. “We also work as labourers to earn money when we can.

“We own a small piece of land near a riverbank, but we are unable to grow crops as flooding destroys our crops during the rainy season. We don’t have a proper home, we live in a hut which cannot protect us from the cold, wind, or rain.”

The older couple’s lives become even more difficult when temperatures plummet in winter.

“During the winter our life gets very hard due to the extreme cold. We cannot wake up early and work outside. We spend time in our hut, we light a fire in the nearby field to help warm our bodies. As we have grown old the winters have become hard for us. Winter is an enemy for people in their old age like us: we get sick, and our lives become more painful than normal.”

“Winter has become our enemy, but Islamic Relief is our friend”

The winter survival items the couple received from Islamic Relief last year made a big difference, Suggani says.

“The support we got from Islamic Relief helps poor people like us. We would not be able to afford such good quality winter kit, we can now have warm water and sleep in a warm bed. I would like to say thanks to all the people supporting us.”

This winter, more people than ever before are in desperate need. Islamic Relief is working tirelessly to ease their suffering by distributing vital winter survival items to vulnerable families in 17 countries.

Help people like Suggani survive this cold winter season

The changing of the seasons can be challenging for all of us, especially the most vulnerable among us. With energy and food prices rocketing, more and more people have been pushed into poverty.

The United Nations has estimated that, since the pandemic, an additional 75 million people may have been pushed into living in extreme poverty by the end of the year. The overall number of people living in extreme poverty could reach 800 million this year. For these people, winter’s plummeting temperatures and harsh weather mean an ever-greater struggle for survival.

However, there is hope. Last year, through your generous support, Islamic Relief provided winter kits to more than 435,000 people in 17 countries. Kits contain vital survival items such as warm clothes, blankets, and heaters. Support and donate to the winter appeal to help vulnerable families stay warm as they make their way through harsh winter months.

As the first winter showers hit the Gaza Strip, Palestinian families are struggling to keep themselves warm and gain access to essential aid and resources.

In Gaza, the advent of winter marks a season of infrastructure problems, rainwater flooding and massive power cuts. Per day, people receive just 40 per cent of required power as a result of the city power plant’s inability to operate at full capacity due to a lack of fuel, placing the continuation of basic essential services at risk.

This, combined with the lack of funding and successive sieges that have further worn-out the infrastructure of houses and buildings within the Gaza Strip, has left Palestinians suffering through another winter season.

Palestine needs external aid to survive the winter weather

Islamic Relief teams are on the ground in the Gaza Strip, distributing survival items to help more than 455,000 vulnerable people get through the harsh winter season. The intervention is assisting people like Yasser, who lives in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“I have a heart condition, so I am not able to work and therefore we rely on social affairs and other aid to survive,” says Yasser, who lives with his wife and 5 children in a dangerously dilapidated house in Gaza.

“It has been hard living in my house. It didn’t have windows or doors and we were even afraid to move around the house as the ceiling could fall. There were too many cracks in it, this made us suffer from the extreme heat in the summer and the cold in the winter.”

Wintry weather meant more misery for the family

“My family always suffers a lot in the winter. Cold air comes in everywhere, and when it rained the whole house would flood. I would spend the night moving around, making sure my children would stay warm. During the daytime, I would move from one hospital to another to get treatment for my children who got ill during the winter due to their poor immune systems.”

It was a worrying, exhausting way to live, Yasser adds, “This has made me so tired and worried and makes me feel sad for my children.”

But thanks to Islamic Relief, the father-of-5 was able to improve his family’s living conditions.

“I was so worried for my children: thank God for Islamic Relief’s winter assistance.”

Yasser says: “Thank God for Islamic Relief’s winterisation project: it has allowed me to buy the tools needed for the house. Before I only had 3 mattresses between a family of 8, and now we have enough mattresses and blankets for all of us.

“Thank God, they have installed windows and doors, and worked on tiling the floor and repairing the cracks in the wall. I am optimistic that this winter my children will not drown from the rainwater flooding our home as they sleep.

“Through the Islamic Relief project, we were able to make so many repairs which will make our lives better this winter.”

You could change the lives of more families like Yasser’s

Imagine the fear and feeling of helplessness that would grip you as bombs fall on your neighbourhood, while you struggled to find enough food and medicine for your family in harsh cold weather.

Islamic Relief Australia is helping vulnerable families in 17 countries to survive the harsh winter elements. In worst-hit regions like the Gaza Strip in Palestine, Islamic Relief is on the ground, delivering food packs, blankets, mattresses, winter clothes and other heating items to those who need them most.

Your donation would give fathers like Yasser the basic essentials and proper housing infrastructure he needs to help his family stay warm this winter. Ensure that they get the relief they need by showing your support.