Families Brace for another Winter

Around the world, temperatures are dropping, leaving families already in need even more vulnerable.

The Cold can Kill

The human body normally maintains a temperature of around 98.6˚F or 37˚C. When the body can’t produce enough heat in an extremely cold environment hypothermia can happen, and has proven to be fatal. As hypothermia takes root, it slows down thinking, body movement, and the ability to react.

For these reasons, many people unfortunately die because of how slow and unassuming hypothermia is. It is so subtle that people can pass in their sleep.

Hypothermia is just one of the many reasons that IRUSA has committed to assisting vulnerable communities survive the winter. This assistance is more than just keeping families out of the cold, it’s provided to keep families out of the emergency room.

Support Matters

People like Umm Zakariyyah in Turkey, shared her experience working personally at one of IRUSA’s winter distributions. She spoke candidly, “We entered an orphanage that was home to Syrian refugees. We began participating in a project that is providing 2,500 families with winter jackets, new shoes and socks. Due to the vast quantity of items to be distributed the project divides the distribution up amongst several locations, times and dates to make things easier.

When you have a one size fits all solution like a blanket you can host distributions and give out all the items but as you can see here in the video. Mothers were coming providing a list of items they needed. For instance, one mother requested shoe size 6 and 7 and a small and medium winter Jacket, so we gave them the requested items. When you have custom sizes like this, it is better to do it like so. This was an Islamic Relief Project, you can see first hand how your help is reaching these people. This area gets really cold in the winter.”

Winter is Here

As winter creeps in, families’ like the ones mentioned above hope to be able to stay warm. They fear that when the below freezing temperatures arrive help won’t come fast enough.

The cold complicates almost every aspect of their daily lives. It is difficult to cook properly, heat their homes, if they have a proper home, and most of all keep the little children they take care of, warm throughout the night. 

This winter will be no different. Temperatures will drop. Families will look to the donors at IRUSA for help. Thankfully our donors have remained committed to responding with warm hearts, and we expect this winter will be no different.