The Syrian refugee crisis has highlighted the struggles faced when war, political instability, natural disasters or other crises force huge numbers of people to flee their homes.
Seeing images of people fleeing and hearing harrowing stories of escape has made many people all around the world want to reach out and help. But many don’t know what they can do to make a real difference in the lives of refugees, those fleeing Syria and the many others fleeing other regions and countries.
If you are one of those people who has wanted to help, but you haven’t been sure how or the task has seemed too daunting, here are some ways that you can make a real difference. Whether you have a lot of resources or just some time to offer, anyone can make a contribution.
Volunteer in your community to help newly arrived refugees get settled.
This could mean helping someone learn to navigate public transit, getting a family set up with library cards and helping them get acquainted with life in your community.
The Canadian government has set up a great tool that will match you with volunteer opportunities in your community. You can check it out here.
The US government also has a similar tool that you can find on this page. Just scroll down to the map!
For local opportunities in other countries, a quick Google search of “volunteer to help refugees in [your country]” should help you find some local organizations.
Make a donation to an organization that is providing emergency humanitarian relief to refugees.
Whether you are able to make a big or small donation, your donation can help provide food, shelter and other necessities. Syrians who are still in the country are now facing the harsh conditions of winter and starvation is a serious and growing concern in many areas.
Until February 29th the Canadian government will be matching donations made to registered Canadian charities who are responding to the Syrian refugee crisis. Charity Intelligence has created a tool to help people decide which charity they want to contribute to, you can find it here.
Take part in a local organization’s effort to sponsor a family.
Schools, church groups and other community groups are coming together to help share the responsibility and cost of hosting a refugee family. There are many ways you can help support this kind of effort. You can donate money, donate items that are needed to get the family set up (homewares, kitchen items, food, furniture) or help get the word out to others in your community.
You can use the same tools provided in option 1. Here’s the link for Canadians and here’s the one for Americans.
Offer up some temporary space in your home for a newly arrived refugee family
Thanks to the ingenuity of a group of Canadian start-ups, a website called We Host allows Canadians to offer up temporary space in their homes to host refugees when they first arrive in Canada. You can offer space in your home for anywhere between 1 day and 2 months. 775 Canadians have already used the amazing tool to offer up their space. You can find out more by visiting www.wehostrefugees.org
The refugee crisis is extremely complicated with far-reaching consequences, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t help. Wherever you are and no matter how much time or money you’ve got, you can make a contribution.