UN agency launches campaign to protect Palestinian refugees in harsh winter

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Tuesday launched a campaign to raise 2 million U.S. dollars to provide the most vulnerable Palestinian refugees with the support they need to keep warm this winter, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"All donations to the campaign, lasting from today to the end of February 2016, will support the Agency's winterization efforts, including shelter repairs and the provision of food and cash assistance to Palestine refugee families," Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

The campaign called "Share Your Warmth" is "being launched in 10 languages today -- Arabic, English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Malay and Bahasa Indonesia," he said.

Without international funding, thousands of Palestinian refugees could be left in the cold this winter, the UNRWA warned.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dire humanitarian situation of vulnerable Palestine refugees during the winter season -- particularly the families who have lost their homes or have been displaced due to conflict.

UNRWA, set up in 1949 to provide education, health care, social services, camp infrastructure, and microfinance for registered Palestine refugees, now numbering some 5 million, in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip education, is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions, but financing has not kept pace with increased demand.

Its General Fund, which supports core essential services, is operating with a large deficit, as are its emergency programmes.

The campaign features a short video which shows two families -- one surrounded by conflict and the other in the warmth of their home -- who come together to exchange gifts, emphasizing the culture of sharing present in Palestine refugee communities. Enditem