Much as we would love to cocoon ourselves in our warm, homely nests and hibernate during the winter ...

Much as we would love to cocoon ourselves in our warm, homely nests and hibernate during the winter months, it is also important to spare a thought for those beyond our personal comfort zones who are in dire need of our help and assistance.

Here are just three of Islamic Help’s current refugee appeals that could really benefit from your support right now

Rohingya Emergency Appeal

With the current situation as it stands in Myanmar (formerly Burma), over 500,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape sectarian and state violence. A similar number in Myanmar have been unlawfully displaced and, already denied citizenship and regarded as stateless, have now also lost their homes as they are confined to camps.

Not only have the Rohingya in Myanmar been denied their own right of stay but some have also been denied the right to even leave, leaving them in dire circumstances without so much as even the basic right of access to basic services and the necessary essentials they need in order to survive.

Islamic Help intends to resume its work in Myanmar once the authorities lift restrictions on humanitarian and aid agencies. However, we do urgently need your support to continue assisting as many of those who have managed to flee to Bangladesh as possible. Your support can help to provide food, water, shelter and the essential provisions they need in order to survive this difficult time.

For more information on how you can help with the Islamic Help Rohingya Emergency Appeal, see here.

Syrian Refugees

The civil war in Syria erupted in 2011 and by the end of 2017 more than 5.4 million Syrians were registered as refugees in neighbouring countries.

Islamic Help has been providing emergency aid including food, water, shelter, medicines and fuel to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. Our teams on the ground work throughout the year to deliver essential aid to refugee camps, while inside Syria our partners provide desperately needed aid to stricken communities who have suffered from the ravages of war.

That work will continue as long as the Syrian crisis remains but we need your ongoing support. Find out more and donate towards helping Syrian refugees here.

Central African Republic

Civil conflict sparked by ethnic and religious violence and political instability have left the Central African Republic in the grip of a humanitarian crisis. More than 2 million people – nearly half the population – desperately need aid while more than 400,000 have fled the country.

In neighbouring Cameroon, we have been providing emergency aid for those fleeing CAR and set up a semi-permanent refugee camp at Garoua-Boulai for 200 families (approx. 1,500 people). It features wooden family shelters plus a health centre, a school, a mosque, sanitation facilities and solar power for electricity. The medical and educational facilities are also used by the local community.

In CAR itself, a similar complex housing 1,750 internally displaced people was set up with the approval of militia and political authorities. Both of the facilities provide ongoing care and support to refugees and the internally displaced.

Islamic Help has been leading an international coalition of charities and organisations to support those caught in the crisis. You can help save lives by donating to the Central African Republic emergency appeal here.

Further to the refugee appeals mentioned above, there are also so many other people across the world suffering from major disaster and hardship that are in desperate need of our help.

It is our duty, not only as Muslim brothers and sisters, but also as human beings, to help those suffering around us wherever we can.

Some of us can wake up in the morning without really opening our eyes to what is happening around us, whereas others can not do enough to try and put right the many wrongs of this world.

Remember, everywhere you look, even on your own doorstep; there is always someone that could do with a helping hand.

Let’s aim to help those that really need our support this 2018.

For more information on how you can reach out to those in need, contact Islamic Help on 012 1446 5682 or visit us online, here.