$85 or how to help a family of refugees in Yemen

Photo Courtesy of Adel Yahya/IRIN

Sometimes, the poor are quicker to help than the rich. You might not see this in Bollywood, Lollywood (Lahore), Collywood (Cairo) or Dollywood (Dubai). However, sometimes reality is even better than film.

In February this year, I was happy to witness the festival of giving, when Tunisian communities kicked into action to help the people fleeing the unrest in Libya. I recounted then the sheer joy I felt at the way people were coming out of their houses with whatever they had (Tunisia is after all a developing country) to help the newcomers with food, clothing, blankets and other essential items. The same happened in Kosovo in 1999, when Albanian families looked after the displaced.

The exact same thing is happening in Yemen, where people fleeing the unrest in Abyan in the South are being looked after by local communities, in host families and school halls. The poor are the first to give, without any questions asked or strings attached.

People fleeing their homes without as much as a piece of bread to eat are being looked after by impoverished families, who struggle themselves to obtain the next meal.

In this holy month of Ramadan, Humanitarian Forum Yemen has gathered together a group of local, solid and accountable Yemeni charities who will feed and clothe the poor families of people who have fled their homes in Southern Yemen. It costs $85 to help a family for a whole month. Please help us make them smile and feel secure.

The smallest of donations can contribute towards helping a family in need for over a month. Contact The Humanitarian Forum for more information in English and Arabic by phone:  0 (44) 20 7368 1645 or email info@humanitarianforum.org.

To donate online, click the donate button on this page.

Remember, $85/ AED 313/ QAR 310/ £52/60E can help a family in need for over a month!