Tag: Emergency

This month marks 20 years since an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Indonesia. One that claimed the lives of around 230,000 people. And it forever changed the lives of many more. 

Early in the morning of 26 December, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded sent huge tsunami waves barrelling into coastal communities around the Indian Ocean. And it went as far away as the East African coast. 

Homes were swept away in an instant. Livelihoods erased. Families separated. Many never reunited. 

Few humanitarian organisations had experience responding to tsunamis at that time. While many of those directly affected had no idea such a disaster was even possible. That is, until they saw the tsunami with their own eyes. 

Islamic Relief was in Indonesia’s Aceh province – the worst-hit area – the day after the disaster struck. We responded to the massive needs of displaced people by distributing food, water and other essentials. As time passed, we built new homes, schools, and healthcare centres to support the communities on their journey to recovery. 

At the same time, we launched operations in Sri Lanka, responding to the mass devastation caused by the disaster there. Our livelihoods program supported fishermen and others who had lost everything. Helping them take their first steps on the long road to recovery. 

And the road has been long. 

Indonesia and Sri Lanka’s recoveries have been remarkable. However, they would not have been possible without the incredible tenacity of survivors and the tremendous generosity of donors, since 2004 and beyond. This is what allowed Islamic Relief and other agencies to stand by the sides of communities. Allowed us to support them to piece shattered lives back together, no matter how long it took. 

Lives in Indonesia forever changed 

The disaster changed individuals, communities, and entire countries forever. It prompted new legislation around disaster management, preparedness, and risk reduction and changed the way buildings and even entire cities were built. The humanitarian sector also changed, and it too began placing more emphasis on preparing for disasters before they happened. 

In Aceh today, Islamic Relief is working with local government to build new homes for vulnerable families, and supporting orphaned children towards a brighter future through our Orphan Sponsorship Program. 

The program is also changing young lives in Sri Lanka, where Islamic Relief’s other work includes running seasonal food distributions, programs to improve communities’ access to clean water and livelihoods support.   

A time of remembrance and celebration 

20 years on from the earthquake and tsunami, Islamic Relief is looking back at this pivotal historical event that continues to shape and influence our work today. Throughout December, we will be remembering those who lost their lives. 

Survivors with strong memories from that terrifying day. Mothers and fathers who lost their children. Children who lost their parents. Teachers and healthcare workers who were inspired and determined to rebuild their communities. Islamic Relief staff who spent weeks and months on the ground in Indonesia and Sri Lanka responding to emergency.

We’ve seen how, for many colleagues, the need to do something for survivors of this disaster is what made them become humanitarians in the first place. 

Their words can tell you so much more than one article ever could. 

Since late November 2024, severe flooding from the Niger River has devastated parts of Timbuktu and Mopti of Mali. It is displacing thousands, destroying infrastructure, and disrupting essential services.  

With over 6,700 households affected, communities face urgent needs for food, shelter, and healthcare. Islamic Relief Mali launched an emergency response to provide immediate relief and support long-term recovery. However, more aid is critical to address this escalating crisis. 

The Escalating Flooding Situation in Mali

Mali has been experiencing above-average rainfall since July 2024. The ongoing rains and devastating floods in the Niger River have caused overflows, affecting all communes located along the river strip.  

By November 27, 2024, severe flooding from the Niger River impacted communes in Gourma Rharous and Douentza circles, within Timbuktu and Mopti regions.  

Now, as of December 5, 2024, over 153 villages with 6,758 households have been affected by the floods. The disaster has devastated agriculture, livestock, and homes. It is destroying farmlands and disrupting pastoral activities and essential resource access. 

Increasing Damage from the Floods 

The floods have caused extensive damage, destroying homes, latrines, livestock, farmland, and essential services like schools, health centers, and water points.  

Floods have also devastated livelihoods, severely impacting rice crops before harvest and submerging grazing areas, leaving livestock without access to food and resources. 

This has displaced many Mali citizens, increasing their risks of waterborne diseases, early hunger, undernutrition, and food insecurity. 

A majority of affected households (84%) households struggle to make ends meet, while almost half (48%) are homeless or displaced, living with family.  

Most (82%) households have also lost everything. 52% of households need social protection, while 72% collect their drinking water from unprotected wells.  

The situation demands urgent humanitarian assistance to address the critical needs of affected communities. 

Currently, the government and other agencies are assessing the extent of the damage. with initial reports highlighting significant destruction.  

Islamic Relief’s Response to Mali Emergency 

Islamic Relief’s local teams are on the ground conducting ongoing assessments, which will provide updates on damages, impacted populations, and humanitarian response efforts. Ensuring a coordinated, efficient response that promptly addresses the needs of affected communities. 

They are also beginning immediate distribution of food, non-food items (NFI), and shelter assistance. This will impact 215 flood-affected households in the communes of Banikane, Séréré, Rharous, and Hamzakoma.  

Our teams plan an urgent intervention to provide food, non-food items (NFI), and shelter assistance to affected households in the Rharous circle. Specifically in the communes of Banikane, Rharous, Séréré, and Hamzakoma.  

Each family will be provided with cash vouchers that allow them to purchase the relief items they need.  

The local Islamic Relief team in Mali is also coordinating with the relevant authorities, other humanitarian actors to ensure our response is timely and appropriate.  

In the short and long term, Islamic Relief will take the resilience actions required to rebuild families’ livelihoods.  

This includes the construction and rehabilitation of housing, village irrigation schemes, market gardening schemes, water points, schools, and other important facilities. There will also be the provision of agricultural inputs and equipment.  

The overall situation in Northern and Centre Mali is increasingly precarious. Especially due to the effects of flood and the situation is deteriorating by the day. Continued support and immediate action are essential to address the vulnerabilities faced by local communities and displaced families.  

The flooding persists, with the potential to exacerbate material damage, and the situation remains alarming. 

Sri Lanka is grappling with the aftermath of Cyclone Fengal. It unleashed heavy rainfall, strong winds, and severe thunderstorms across the country.  

Since late November, the unrelenting weather has caused catastrophic flooding, landslides, and widespread destruction, leaving many vulnerable communities in crisis. 

The Cyclone’s Destruction  

Heavy rainfall, strong winds, thunderstorms, and lightning continue to impact most of Sri Lanka, causing floods, landslides, and severe weather-related incidents. This has resulted in casualties and widespread damage.  

The most affected provinces include Northern, Uva, North-Western, Western, North Central, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern, and Southern regions. 

Continuous rainfall in Sri Lanka began on 23 November 2024, with the situation worsening significantly on 28 November 2024. This was due to a slow-moving deep depression formed in the Bay of Bengal (Cyclone Fengal). This severely affected the region and triggered widespread flooding. 

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC), as of 3^rd December 2024, reported mass destruction in Sri Lanka. There are 18 fatalities, 19 injured individuals, and nearly 5,100 people still displaced across 64 evacuation centres. 

Approximately 468,750 people have been affected across the impacted provinces. Additionally, the DMC reports 107 houses fully destroyed and more than 2,600 houses partially damaged. 

Islamic Relief’s Response to the Emergency in Sri Lanka

The IPD Emergency Panel convened to discuss an Emergency Alert issued by Islamic Relief Sri Lanka in response to the heavy rains and flooding caused by Cyclone Fengal.

The Emergency panel approved a response, allowing Islamic Relief to initiate immediate response activities and eventually scale up to cover unmet needs. 

Islamic Relief is proposing an immediate intervention by providing unconditional cash assistance to affected households in the Eastern Province (Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Ampara districts), Northwestern Province (Puttalam District), and North Central Province (Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa districts).  

The immediate response will prioritise reaching the existing right holders who have been severely impacted. This includes orphaned children supported under the Orphan Support Program and other rightsholders from ongoing Islamic Relief funded projects. 

The cold winter months leave Afghanistan’s most vulnerable struggling. Mozdalifa lives with her 2 sons in Botkhak, a camp for internally displaced people in th nation’s capital, Kabul.

Since losing her husband 6 years ago, the 45-year-old has struggled to make ends meet.

“We don’t have food every day. One day, we have food and we keep the same food for the next day, so we don’t starve,” Mozdalifa says.

The roof of the family’s 1-room mud-brick house is damaged, making it impossible to keep out the winter cold.

But Mozdalifa can barely afford rent, let alone the necessary repairs.

Winters in Afghanistan can be extremely harsh with temperatures dropping to -25°C, sometimes even lower, for months at a time. Last year, temperatures fell as low as -34°C and more than 160 people died. 

To fight the cold, Mozdalifa’s sons collect plastic bottles and other waste, which she burns to heat their room. The fumes are toxic, but it’s their only way of keeping warm. 

A lifeline during the coldest months 

Islamic Relief’s annual Winterisation Program provides blankets, fuel and warm clothing to families in need.  

Last winter, Mozdalifa was one of around 475,500 people across 18 countries to receive this vital support. 

This year, we plan to extend the program to reach families in 19 countries. With your support, Islamic Relief can be a lifeline to even more people in need. 

Please help us protect families from the worst of winter. Donate to our Winter Appeal now. 

For families already struggling with poverty, the winter season brings even greater challenges.

With temperatures dropping to 10°C in normally balmy Bangladesh, the cold and foggy weather can be difficult for those who are accustomed to a warmer climate.

Cold, fever and other sicknesses strike many people, particularly children and the elderly.

Winter, a difficult time of year

For Mohammed, 58, the cold season is an unwelcome disruption. “The month of winter means months of unhappiness,” he says. “This is a difficult time of year.”

The father of 3 describes how his family suffers greatly from conditions such as pneumonia, asthma, and high fever during the cold months. The family struggles to make ends meet and afford treatment and care for one of Mohammed’s daughters, who has a disability.

41-year-old Hamida lives with her husband and 7 children. Her husband sometimes earns a small amount of money working as a day labourer, but the family struggles to make ends meet.

The arrival of winter, with its excessive cold and fog, means there are fewer opportunities to earn, and the family are unable to buy themselves warm clothes for cold weather.

It is a vicious cycle, with the lack of appropriate clothing leaving Hamida’s family vulnerable to illness, which in turn, affects their ability to work.

Protecting families from the cold

Islamic Relief’s annual Winterisation Program provides blankets, fuel and warm clothing to families in need.

Last winter, Islamic Relief supported 475,500 people across 18 countries to receive this vital support.

Photo: Mohammed and Hamida’s families are among those assisted last year

Mohammed describes his family’s happiness at receiving warm clothes from Islamic Relief. “These hoodies will protect our children from cold,” he says, with relief.

This year, we plan to extend the program to reach families in 19 countries. With your support, Islamic Relief can be a lifeline to even more people in need.

Please help us protect families from increasing hardship during the cold months. Donate to our Winter Appeal now.

Mohammad Najibi, a photographer for Islamic Relief based in Afghanistan’s Herat province, recounts a year spent witnessing the indomitable spirit of his fellow Afghans as they rise from the ashes of despair following a devastating earthquake in October 2023. As winter approaches, he shares the stories of families facing the cold with little more than a tent to protect them from the elements.

Every click of my camera captures not just images. It also takes the raw emotions of families struggling to reclaim their lives amid the rubble. The tremors may have subsided, but the echoes of grief still linger. As winter approaches, I see those same resilient faces—filled with hope yet shadowed by uncertainty. Facing another harsh season with little more than their faith to survive.

Life in Afghanistan Where the Harsh Cold Hits the Hardest

As I draw closer to Shorabak village in the Injil district of Herat province, one of the areas hit hardest by the disaster, a striking contrast reveals itself. The serene beauty of the mountain trekking road, framed by a clear blue sky, soon gives way to a sprawling makeshift settlement that tells a different story. Tents, worn and weathered, pepper the landscape like the scattered memories of a once-thriving community.

It’s mid-October, and the few trees and shrubs are shedding their leaves, embracing the harsh winter. The air is filled with the smell of mud. It is mixed with dust that floats in the sunlight, creating shades of tan and brown.

In this challenging environment, families huddle together in their fragile shelters, their faces etched with worry. Young children cling to their parents, their laughter faint against the backdrop of uncertainty. Each passing day brings them closer to the brink. Their provisions dwindle as hope flickers like a candle in the wind.

As the crisp autumn air settled around us, I sat down with 2 remarkable survivors. We delved into their stories of resilience and preparation. Their eyes sparkled with the wisdom of experience as they shared how they braced themselves for the harsh months ahead. It wasn’t about stacking firewood, blankets, or food; it was sheer faith.

‘I fear these harsh winter months without supplies will break us’

“For the second year in a row, we find ourselves huddled together, facing the winter in a tent,” says Zainab, a mother of 4 living in Shorabak village in Herat. “My husband can no longer work in the fields.”

“Winter is creeping in, just a month away, and already the chill bites through our thin walls,” the 60 year old says. “I look around the tent, scanning for anything that might shield my family from the bitter cold. I can’t find anything.”

Tears well up as she speaks of her eldest daughter, just 33, who has been paralysed for the last decade.

“I cannot leave her, unable to fend for herself, just when I desperately need to gather food for the others. I fear these harsh winter months without supplies will break us.”

Driving into another village, we see how families were preparing for winter. The situation was even worse than I had anticipated. Due to the ongoing windy storm this time, few tents could withstand the elements near where their mud-brick homes once stood.

‘My children are woken by strong, cold wind shaking our tent at night’

“All my family belongings, including utensils and clothing, are trapped in my destroyed home,” Immamudin, 32, reflects sorrowfully. “For nearly a year now, I’ve been sharing this tent with my 3 young children and my pregnant wife. Soon, our 5 sheep will join us in this tent.”

He continues, his voice trembling, “The winter hasn’t even begun, but the nights are already biting cold, and I dread what’s to come. When it snows, I fear for my family’s safety.”

With a heavy heart, he adds, “I’ve had to set up our tent again and again as the strong winds relentlessly tear it down.

“We go to bed hungry most nights,” he admits, a look of despair crossing his face. “We rely entirely on the kindness of charitable organisations. It’s heartbreaking to watch my children suffer like this.”

At night, he finds himself huddling closer to his kids, whispering words of comfort as the cold wind rattles their temporary home. “I wrap my arms around them, trying to shield them from the chill. All I can do is ask for help—warm clothes and food—for my family’s survival.”

Immamudin’s daughter Fatima adds, “When the tents collapse on us, I wake up thinking it’s an earthquake. It is so frightening.”

‘I am pleading for your support to help my people endure the relentless grip of winter’

Zainab and Immamudin embody the heartbreaking reality many earthquake-displaced families face, struggling to survive an unforgiving winter. Their stories weigh heavy on my heart: resilient mothers and their children huddled together in a flimsy tent, their only shelter against the biting cold, with barely a few thin sleeping mats to cushion their weary bodies. The sight of their brave faces, alongside their sheep and goats, engaged in a daily fight for warmth, will forever haunt my memories. 

In this remote village, nestled among towering mountains, the weather can shift in an instant. One moment, there’s a fragile semblance of safety in their canvas tents; the next, a howling storm robs families of that fleeting comfort. The chilling realisation of what lies ahead looms closer with each passing day. The snow will blanket their fragile world in just a month, turning it into a frozen prison. The ice won’t just settle on the ground; it will creep onto the roofs of their tents, amplifying their struggle and turning survival into an excruciating fight against the elements. 

Against this harrowing backdrop, I am pleading for your support to help my people endure the relentless grip of winter.  

Islamic Relief supports vulnerable families in Afghanistan and elsewhere each winter, providing food, blankets, and fuel to help people face the cold months. Please help us to reach families in need this winter. Donate to our Winter Appeal now.

Donia currently lives with her 2 children in a camp for displaced people in Al-Baraka, Deir Al Balah. She is originally from northern Gaza but has been displaced to the south following the escalation in Israeli attacks. 

The people of Gaza have endured more than 1 year of intense suffering and relentless attacks. An astonishing 1.9 million people – 9 out of 10 people – have been displaced, often multiple times, from their homes and so-called safe zones since October 2023. 

Now, they must face a second winter far from their homes, and with safety and warmth long forgotten.   

A new type of winter  

“This winter is different from all past winters; it will be so harsh on everyone due to continued displacement,” Donia says.  

She describes trying to survive the worsening weather while living in makeshift tents with no real protection from the elements. “When it rained, we were drenched inside our tent. I have just 1 cover and a mattress and they are both full of rain. We felt cold and my little daughter didn’t have any warm clothes. We didn’t know where to go.” 

Surviving the cold in fragile tents

Winters in Gaza can be challenging, with temperatures sometimes dropping to 0°C. Many Palestinian families fled their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and have lost more and more belongings in each subsequent upheaval, leaving them with few resources to combat the cold.

Intesar describes how her family of 7 is struggling without these necessities.

“We do not even have [winter] clothes. My children wear their summer clothes and put jackets over them. At night they sleep wearing sweaters to avoid feeling cold,” the 35-year-old says.

3 children share a single blanket between them, and the family tries to huddle together at night to keep warm, but it is not enough to keep out the cold.

Whoever saves a life has saved all humanity

Islamic Relief’s annual Winterisation Program provides blankets, fuel and warm clothing to families in need. For many, this can be the difference between life and death. God reminds us in the Qur’an, “whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity.”

Last winter, we provided this vital support to 475,500 people across 18 countries.

For Palestinians, receiving such aid this winter means that at least they need not worry that they will die from the cold.

This year, we plan to continue supporting families in Gaza, while extending the program to reach even more countries than before. With your support, Islamic Relief can be a lifeline to even more people in need.

Please help us protect families from the worst of winter. Donate to our Winter Appeal now.

Every year, brutal winter conditions batter vulnerable communities around the world. As the cold months bring harsh conditions, many families must make difficult decisions. Will they put food on the table today? Will they buy gas to fuel their heaters?

This year, these decisions are being thrown into sharper focus for millions of people across the world who have been displaced from their homes amid natural disasters and conflict. 

Across the Middle East and Asia, where homes tend to be built to withstand scorching summers, many families are often ill-prepared for the realities of winter. Storms and blizzards can be brutal and devastating. 

In 2023, Islamic Relief Worldwide delivered winter essentials to more than 475,000 people in 18 countries, helping them survive the cold season.  

Our support included distributing thermal clothing to families in Albania and Bangladesh. We renovated and winter-proofed houses in Chechnya, and distributed tents in Nepal. We delivered food to hungry communities in Kosova and North Macedonia 

This year, more is needed.  

With deadly crises forcing millions to flee their homes, families from Lebanon to Palestine will struggle even more as temperatures plummet. 

In Gaza and Lebanon especially, hundreds of thousands of people face a brutal winter in makeshift shelters, not knowing where their next meal will be coming from.  

They face a struggle to feed themselves, a struggle to keep warm, and a struggle to survive. 

We won’t let them struggle alone. 

During harsh, cold conditions, your donation will be a lifeline to families in crisis.  

With your support, Islamic Relief will help more people than ever to survive the winter. Expanding our program. This year we will reach vulnerable individuals in 19 countries.

Whether they need food, hygiene items, supplies to repair their shelter, firewood, or cash or vouchers to buy warm clothes, your support can ensure their survival. 

With your generous donations, we will again protect families from the worst of the cold season. Donate to our Winter Appeal now. 

Islamic Relief teams in Beirut have today been distributing emergency aid as thousands more families flee their homes amid the unprecedented escalation in Israeli bombing in the Lebanese capital.

Since October 2023, an ever-growing number of families in Lebanon have become displaced, experiencing similar upheaval and uncertainty. However, numbers have skyrocketed over the last two weeks, amid a sharp increase in violence.

Our staff report catastrophic scenes, with school shelters at bursting point and thousands of terrified families stranded in the open with nowhere to go.

Firsthand Account From the Ground in Beirut

Jad Assaf, Islamic Relief’s Senior Humanitarian Program Officer based in Beirut, says:

“It’s hard to find the words to describe the situation, but it’s getting worse by the hour. People are camping out in parks, on the beach, or just by the side of the road. Wherever you go there are terrified families who don’t know where to go to be safe.

“Hundreds of schools have been turned into shelters across the country, but many of these are now full to bursting point and are having to turn people away as they have no more space. The bombing is continuing and we fear the numbers of displaced people will keep rising. 

“Conditions in the schools are awful. There are already multiple families sheltering in each classroom and others have to sleep in the playgrounds as there’s no room left inside. There are 100 or more people sharing a single toilet, and no showers. Women and girls have no privacy and have to share rooms and toilets with complete strangers. People had to flee their homes in a hurry, so they have hardly anything with them.  

“Since the beginning of the crisis we’ve been distributing food, hygiene kits, mattresses, blankets and medical supplies. Today we’ve distributed food parcels to 1,000 displaced families who have nothing and are absolutely desperate.

“The numbers of people affected are huge, but it is not about numbers – it is about people. These are real people who are in inhumane conditions.”  

An Escalating Crisis

More than 100,000 people have been displaced across Lebanon in just five days, and more are fleeing hourly. Many families fled bombing in the south of the country and arrived in Beirut over the past few days, hoping the capital would be safer, only to suffer the massive escalation in bombing there over the past 24 hours.

As the crisis escalates, and the massacre in Gaza continues, Islamic Relief says international governments must step up pressure for an immediate ceasefire across the region and end arms sales.

Islamic Relief has launched a $19 million AUD emergency appeal to scale up its response to the Lebanon crisis. Since the beginning of the crisis the charity has distributed 3,653 food parcels, 2,273 hygiene kits help prevent the spread of disease in the shelters, 1,035 mattresses, 1,035 blankets and 6,906 medical items to emergency services.

As Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon continue to escalate, we share the story of Sara*. She fled with her family from the country’s south last year, where bombing has been the heaviest.

Since October 2023, an ever-growing number of families in Lebanon have become displaced, experiencing similar upheaval and uncertainty. However, numbers have skyrocketed over the last two weeks, amid a sharp increase in violence.

Sara’s Story

“My family and I were worried about our safety and what would happen to us when the war in Gaza broke out. Living on the border is difficult, you must always be cautious. We couldn’t sleep once the war started because we were worried about what might happen next,” Sara says. 

“When we heard air strikes on 9 October, we all tried to escape with what little we could carry. The air strike partially damaged my house, my parents’ house, my sister’s house, and our small market shop. Alhamdulillah, we arrived safely in Tyre [a coastal city in Lebanon], although settling there was difficult. We’ve moved 3 times in the last 3-4 weeks because the landowners either won’t let us [stay] or want a high rent, or the building is unsafe for my children. 

“We are currently staying in a small house with other displaced people. There are 10 individuals sleeping in 1 small room. There is no privacy. I’ve had problems using the toilets and managing my period, as well as other hygiene difficulties.  I am also worried about infectious diseases that my kids and I could catch. 

“My children are no longer able to attend school, and they are psychologically disturbed, afraid, and insecure. They ask questions, but we have no answers for them. 

Our Ongoing Support in Lebanon

Since the escalation began in October 2023, spilling over from the crisis in Gaza, Islamic Relief has supported more than 27,900 affected people with food, hygiene kits and other basic items. We have also provided much-needed medical supplies to support hospitals and mobile clinics.

We continue to call for an immediate ceasefire and respect for international law across the region.

*Name changed to protect confidentiality.