75,000 people. 19 countries. Winter is coming. Which means we need to prepare. 

Winter is the harshest season for refugees around the world, having to face dire conditions with minimal resources. Through this season there is a constant climbing death toll. A large number of these deaths include the elderly and infants – those who are immunocompromised and have no way of protecting themselves in these harsh conditions.  

We have witnessed, worldwide, the plight of so many refugees. Syrian refugees crossed borders and left everything behind to seek security in Jordan. Their homes are bedsheets and blankets tied together to make walls and roofs. This is just enough to keep the sun out in the summer but nothing at all to keep the cold out in winter.  

Imagine walking in the steps of Rohingya refugees; having to fair the sea to escape murderous persecution; losing lives along the way only to make it to Bangladesh and continue to lose lives from the sheer cold of the winter winds.  

Or finding a way out as Yemeni refugees to escape famine only to question if the frost will get to you first. These are just a few of the realities persecuted people and refugees around the world face. If only there was a little aid through the harshest season, it could be the difference between life or death for so many people, so many orphans.  

This is where your support of HHRD comes in! 

Our teams work hard to decipher the greatest needs for refugees, internally displaced people, and marginalized communities. Then we work to meet those needs. We assemble provision packages for impoverished areas and refugee camps alike. Every country we work in has their own specific needs that we try to meet thus our provision packages can vary from one location to the other. However, the goal in this distribution is always the same – survive the winter to thrive in spring.  

Our Winter Relief Packages include food, blankets, jackets, and even toys. This year we are working in 19 different countries to provide aid and resources to 75,000 people. Their suffering is our suffering, and our wealth is their wealth. We only need to take the step to share it.  

As a global community we share one body. This part of the body is hurting. We don’t have an exact cure but we have something that will start the healing. Our Winter Relief Packages are crucial – we can start the healing today.  

Sobia Siddiqui is the Area Manager in the Houston HHRD office. Before HHRD she worked closely with Syrian and Rohingya refugees in Houston, listening to their stories and sharing both their bread and tears.