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Press Release 5/20/22: Yemen Famine Threat

Millions in Yemen are at threat of deadly famine. The country is suffering from an extreme wheat shortage.

Yemen is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises – the famine threat. It’s due to more than seven years of war, political unrest, and a stagnant economy. Of the 31.18 million people living there, approximately 17.4 million are hungry. This statistics doesn’t even include the ones suffering from disease, malnutrition, and injuries from violence. The situation is only getting worse.

When the war in Ukraine began in late February, Yemen lost over 30% of its wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia. In Yemen, more than 80% of the population already suffers from hunger. So, this was a devastating loss in a country.

Earlier this week, things went from bad to worse when India banned wheat exports entirely. The UN expressed solid concerns for war-torn countries that are already experiencing widespread hunger. Yemen is under an imminent famine threat.

According to a report of the Business Standard, “The US envoy said that Ukraine used to be a breadbasket for the developing world, but ever since Russia started blocking crucial ports and destroying civilian infrastructure and grain silos, hunger situations in Africa and the Middle East are getting even more dire.”

“16 million people in Yemen were already marching towards starvation prior to wheat shortage”, reported by The Guardian. Now, even more will join them.

UMR’s Emergency Plan

UMR has a multi-step approach to bringing immediate relief. We plan to create long-term sustainable solutions to help the people in Yemen.

First, we plan to deliver emergency food aid to the most vulnerable communities. We will focus on the elderly, mothers, children, and persons with disabilities. Our primary consideration is to help Yemen overcome the famine threat.

On a longer-term scale, we plan to rehabilitate the local markets. We will also construct and maintain water points for people and livestock. support local farmers through home gardens, drip irrigation units, and other services. Our ultimate goal is to stimulate the economy and provide sustainable food sources that will help Yemen’s famine threat so that the country can withstand the turmoil it is under.

Press Release 5/4/22: Palestine Relief Partnership

United Mission for Relief and Development (UMR) partners with MedGlobal for Palestine relief. It is a humanitarian organization that serves vulnerable people worldwide. MedGlobal provides free healthcare to refugees, displaced persons, and marginalized communities.

The Turmoil in Palestine:

(According to WFP) 32.7 percent of the population lacked access to a healthy diet. Women are more likely than males to experience food insecurity. 33.7 percent of women heading families reported food scarcity. The situation is more accurate in the Gaza strip, with 64 percent food insecurity.

Palestinians are extremely food insecure. They experience a large consumption gap and lack the resources. These gaps come from the lack of their fundamental requirements. such as food, housing, and clothes. Due to the continuous and protracted crisis, they have already used up most of their coping methods. Which leaves them unable to close the enormous consumption gap.

Years and years of violence have left people of Palestine in a devastating situation. Palestine continues to face significant obstacles –

A protracted conflict
Economic stagnation
Trade restrictions, and
Limited access to resources.

These obstacles bar them from achieving sustainable developments. Among these developments are ending hunger, ensuring food security, and improving nutrition.

Focus of Partnership:

The partnership focuses on facility-based healthcare services in Gaza. UMR and MedGlobal coordinate with the Ministry of Health to deploy healthcare professionals. This partnership aligns with UMR’s mission to address the dire healthcare needs in Gaza.

Approximately 1.5 million people in Gaza lack consistent access to healthcare. As a result, health benchmarks are deteriorating. 80% of Gazans are below the poverty line. Our objectives are to improve the health of the Palestinian people in Gaza and their quality of life. The nature of Palestine relief in Gaza comes in three categories:

1) Lack of protection and displacement;

2) Limited access to essential services; and

3) Erosion of resilience and preparedness.

Sufferings of people in Palestine:

As it stands, 55.7% of elderly patients in Gaza suffer from three or more diseases. Additionally, one-third of older individuals need access to healthcare services. The UMR and MedGlobal partnership expands healthcare and medical service outreach.

About UMR and MedGlobal:

UMR is a registered 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Its headquarter is in Washington, DC. The organization provides disaster relief and recovery services worldwide.

MedGlobal is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It focuses on providing life-saving care. The organization deploys local partners and medical providers with training and supplying hospitals.

UMR and MedGlobal aim to provide sustainable development as a Palestine relief program. Our prerogative is to make sure the civilians get proper access to healthcare and medical services.

Emergency In Lebanon 2020

As of August 04, 2020, over 4,000 were injured in the Beirut warehouse explosion. A state of emergency in Lebanon 2020 has been declared. Help is absolutely necessary for Lebanon at this time.

Lebanon Needs Your Help

“Lebanon is at great risk for a food crisis. Both the Human Rights Watch and the World Bank are predicting that over half of Lebanese households may not be able to afford to purchase food by the end of the year. A full collapse of the Lebanese pound has left thousands of Lebanese unemployed, desperate, and hungry. More than 220,000 jobs in the private sector have been lost since mid-October, and the unrest among the people has reached its boiling point.” — Wejdan Jarrah, UMR’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Representative

Lebanon is facing a sharp economic collapse and political unrest. It will take time to fully recover from the explosion. So, they need as much extra help as possible. Your contributions help doctors save lives, feed children, and provide the elderly with pain medication that they can no longer afford.

How UMR will Distribute Donations in Lebanon

Here’s how your contribution to UMR’s emergency campaign will support Lebanon:

Emergency Medical Intervention:

UMR already shipped its first medical shipment by air to Lebanon. Each health kit will help 10,000 people receive medical aid for 3 months. These emergency health kits include vital items such as:

Gauze
Pain medication
Surgical instruments
Gloves
Masks
Sterilizers
Trays and more

Food Intervention:

Lebanon’s economy is not in a good shape. The prices of daily necessities is sky-rocketing.

Some statistics showing the economical crisis of Lebanon in 2020-

The cost of household staples have risen up to nearly 70% — butter now sells for $8.00 USD, powdered milk costs $40.00 USD, and diapers cost up to $43.00 USD
Over 2.2 million people are living in poverty in Lebanon. According to The World Bank, food insecurity numbers reinstate that “poverty levels could reach as high as 50% if the economic situation worsens.”
More than 220,000 jobs in the private sector have been lost since mid-October, and the unrest among the people has reached its boiling point.

UMR has been working in Lebanon for years, providing cash assistance, food parcels, fresh meat, and medical assistance to the poorest areas of the country. Each package of ours typically feeds a family of 5 for an entire month. The items we provide are:

Beans
Rice
Flour
Pasta
Oil
Sugar
Tomato paste and more

Beirut Cleanup:

UMR volunteers are organized on the ground in Beirut to help clean up the city and restore its peace. Cleaning up the debris from the streets is vital for the country to begin to heal.

As the country begins to rebuild after the explosion, Lebanon faces countless roadblocks.

An estimated 300,000 people are now homeless, more than half of the population is facing poverty, and hospitals are operating without electricity as doctors fight to save the thousands of people caught in the explosion. As the spread of COVID-19 overwhelms the region, unemployment rises to over 30%, and overcrowded hospitals oversee mortality rates, Lebanon now finds itself in the middle of a humanitarian disaster.

UMR volunteers on the ground in Beirut to help the city clean up

Rebuilding Beirut:

Our dedicated team has identified and begun construction on apartmentsin Beirut. We are on track to repair 40-50 apartments per week to ensure that families can safely quarantine.

UMR is restoring homes and apartments by rebuilding windows, doors, and more that were shattered in the blast. We are doing this by employing local workers and providing opportunities and jobs to people who need it most. As COVID-19 cases continue to hit historical daily highs in Lebanon, and with winter on the horizon and cold rains threatening to make matters worse, we are ask you to consider making a donation to support our work. One of the victim said,

“It still feels as if it happened yesterday. The exhaustion, the fear every time we hear something loud; the frustration, the worries… it’s still all there, and it will always remain there.

Your donations will allow us to expand and intensify our life-saving efforts for as long as it takes to rebuild this country.”

Click to Read More:

Bangladesh Water Wells

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. It has more than 1000 people per square kilometer. Bangladesh water wells are urgently needed for clean water.

Three-quarters of the people live in rural areas, where things like running water and clean toilets are often thought of as luxuries. Bangladesh has one of the fastest rates of urbanization in Asia. Most of the 7 million people live in urban slums. Their numbers are growing quickly. They don’t have access to clean water, toilets, waste disposal systems, or sewer drainage.

The rural poor and people living in urban slums often have to drink and cook with unprotected surface water. Because they don’t have access to water supply infrastructure like tube wells and pipes.

World Bank’s Agglomeration Index is an alternative measure of urban concentration. According to them, there is a lot of urbanization in Bangladesh that is not included in official definitions and statistics. With poor WASH coverage and community awareness, an undercounted rural population that is moving to cities poses a high risk of disease outbreaks.

UMR’s funded project has given 112 deep tube wells, semi-deep tube wells, and shallow tube wells to 4,304 rural and urbanizing beneficiaries. And conducted beneficiary sensitization training on water safety, benefits of safe water, personal/environmental hygiene and maintenance of wells.

Beneficiary Feedbacks for Our Project

Below are the most common examples of beneficiary feedback, indicative of the general living conditions of the recipient population:

1. Traveling long distances for water, and spread of water-borne disease:

[S.J.] (Aged 52) is a marginal farmer. His family consists of 6 members: “We collected safe water from a far distance. He said, “We could not install the tube well due to lack of money. Most of the people in this area have been suffering from water-borne diseases for a long time. The people of this area are very poor. […] After the field survey Muslim Aid installed a new shallow tube well. Now we are getting safe water for drinking and domestic uses.” 5

2. Use of unprotected unimproved surface water, and spread of water-borne disease:

[A.S.] (aged 38) is a Rickshaw Puller. His family consists of 7 members. He said “We could not install the tube well due to lack of money. We used pond water. Most of the people in this area have been suffering from water-borne diseases for a long time. We were collecting water from a far distance. The people of this area are very poor. After the field visit Muslim Aid installed a new shallow tube well. Now we are getting pure water for drinking and domestic uses.” 6

3. Water available only in neighboring villages, and the spread of water-borne disease:

[M. A. H.] (age-55) is a poor mer. He said, “We had no tube well before this tube well was installed. The people of this area are very poor. We were collecting drinking water from the neighboring villages. Most of the people in this area have been suffering from water-borne diseases for a long time. We could not install the tube well due to a shortage of funds. After the field survey, Muslim Aid installed a new shallow tube well, so, we are very happy. Now we are getting fresh water for drinking and domestic uses.” 7

For more information:

Recorded by Muhammad Kotha Wala 7846 – July 2015. Address of the beneficiary: Upazila: Bagharpara, District: Jessore.

Recorded by Hadia Hamuri 7296 – July 2015. Address of the beneficiary: Upazila: Bagharpara, District: Jessore.

Recorded by Abul Azad 9029 – July 2015. Address of the beneficiary: Upazila: Jessore Sadar, District: Jessore.

Giving Tuesday is on December 01, 2020. Mark your calendar!

What is Giving Tuesday?

Giving Tuesday is more than just a day of giving. It is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of organizations. The goal is to transform communities across the world.

Celebrated after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving. It is created to inspire people to #giveback after days of consuming and shopping and spending.

“#GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea. A day that encourages people to do good. Over the past seven years, it has grown into a global movement. It inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.”

Established in 2012, the GivingTuesday movement motivates and inspires citizens of the world to:

Give back to their community because they want to, not because they “should”

Collaborate with friends, family, neighbors, and organizations to this day of giving successful

Celebrate generosity, no matter how big or small

UMR + GivingTuesday

Last year, UMR raised over $40,000 on Giving Tuesday alone – this year, our goal is to double that number. All donations given for Giving Tuesday will go towards our 2020 winterization campaign.

UMR will be providing winter kits to families with the immediate need to survive the cold. By supporting UMR’s Winter Campaign on GivingTuesday, you will be providing children and families in the US, as well as Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Bangladesh, and Egypt with:

Food Packs
Blankets
Winter Jackets
Fuel Powered Heaters
Fuel Vouchers

Our Mission

As a humanitarian organization, our mission is to provide immediate relief for vulnerable communities that suffer from malnutrition, disease, poverty, and more.

In such uncertain times, communities are relying on each other more than ever before. On this global day of giving, let’s come together to support our neighbors near and far.

On this global day of giving, come together to support your neighbors near and far.

A Winter Like Never Before

Mohammed al-Jasser, a Syrian refugee was stating their misery in the refugee camp. They need foodstuffs, heating items and medical care. They are suffering from harsh winters. He was describing how powerless and hopeless they are feeling during this winter without any necessary aid. – News by Aljazeera.

This year’s winter is a winter like never before about the suffering and misery of people.

Sufferings of This Winter

We understand that this winter is going to be difficult for everybody. The challenges posed by COVID-19 are immense. There is also the struggle of maintaining a healthy balance between work and family. Life can be overwhelming among them. At UMR, we face those challenges as well. But what keeps us going is knowing that our work can impact the lives of people around the world. People who don’t have access to basic necessities.

When COVID-19 swept the world, no one could have predicted the immense devastation it would cause. Millions of people all across the world are now unemployed, with no hope in sight. Now, as winter approaches, these vulnerable communities are facing a new list of fears.

Such as,

how will I protect myself from the cold? Can I afford to feed my children? Will my family survive this winter?

Life in the Cold

Thousands are forced “to sleep under trees, to shelter in abandoned or unfinished buildings,” according to the UNHCR. “Families are resorting to burning rubbish to try and keep warm, and shield their children from hypothermia.”

Palestinian and Syrian Refugees — Jordan

For so many refugees, this will be their 10th winter in exile.
- Without a place to call home, they reside in makeshift homes or refugee camps. Neither of which offer proper protection from harsh winter weather.

Jordan is home to ~744,795 refugees (UNHCR)
- This counts for over 10% of Jordan’s population, placing immense pressure on the country’s already over-stretched resources.

Before the pandemic, finding work as a refugee was already a struggle. Now with so many businesses closed, the majority are unable to find consistent work. They have no way to afford coats, blankets, heaters, or any other winter essentials.

Gaza, Palestine

The people in Gaza face harsh winters each year, consisting of subzero temperatures, freezing rain, and snow.

With~75% of the entire population living in poverty. This means that millions of people are at risk of not making it through the winter.

“Last year, three children died after they froze inside their homes which lack even primitive warming equipment due to severe lack of gas, fuel and electricity.”

Lebanon

In the fall of 2019, Lebanon’s economy collapsed. The cost of everyday essentials skyrocketed and hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs, their homes, and their only source of income.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the poverty rate shot from 8% to 23%

Now, ~850,000 individuals live below the poverty line

Meaning they are trying to live on less than $14.00 per day

Then, just when the country thought it couldn’t get any worse, there was a massive explosion in Beirut in early August 2020

This explosion destroyed more than 300,000 homes

Leaving entire families to live on the streets or in broken homes, with absolutely no protection from heavy rain, snow, or freezing temperatures.

Now as winter approaches, these families will have no protection from freezing temperatures, rain, hail, snow, etc.

Yemen

In Yemen, ~24.1 million people – 80% of the population – are at risk for hunger and disease and roughly 14.3 million people are in acute need of assistance

UMR has been intervening in Yemen for years, providing life-saving food aid as well as medical care. Because of our experience in this country, we also know that winter is an incredibly difficult season for Yemenis.

Disease, malnutrition, starvation, and lack of adequate shelter in conjunction with COVID-19 and harsh weather pose very severe threats to individuals in Yemen.

Without humanitarian intervention, many Yemenis might not survive the winter.

USA

Due to the pandemic that continues to tear through America, approximately 12.6 million people in the U.S. are unemployed.

Unfortunately, children are often at the forefront of poverty in the United States

Approximately 11.9 million children in the U.S. live in poverty, making them the poorest group in the country

The U.S. is known for very harsh winters; below-freezing temperatures, hail, snow, sleet, and more.

Without adequate protection from this weather, millions of children across this country are at risk this winter.

We mustn’t let another child go to sleep freezing this winter.

Rohingya Refugees, Bangladesh

More than 900,000 Rohingya refugees live in camps south of Cox’s Bazar in Southeast Bangladesh in the world’s largest refugee settlement

These camps are barren, with most people living in makeshift huts without consistent access to food, water, medical care, blankets, heaters, etc.

~1/2 of this refugee population are children suffering from malnutrition and other diseases, making them extremely vulnerable to the cold weather.

Egypt

Before the pandemic, Egypt was still recovering from extreme economic turmoil

Then, COVID-19 caused the economy to crash once again.

32.5% of the Egyptian population lives in extreme poverty – about 1/3 of the entire population
Finding work is nearly impossible during these difficult times and families are wondering how they will be able to keep warm, feed their children, and afford to pay rent.

UMR Interventions

Our mission is to provide immediate relief for vulnerable communities. They are suffering from malnutrition, disease, poverty, and more. Unfortunately, the number of people in need of intervention is higher than it has ever been.

Right now, the world is united like never before. As we all are experiencing the painful effects of this global pandemic. UMR is asking that we come together this winter to help those who have been hit the hardest by this pandemic.

Winter Kits 2020

By supporting UMR’s Winter Kits initiative to help families survive, you will guarantee families will receive:

Food Packs
Blankets
Winter Jackets
Fuel Powered Heaters
Fuel Vouchers

We are facing a winter like never before. UMR is calling for help from all over the world. Let’s make this winter a little bit warm for the unfortunate people around the world.

Zakat al-Maal

As we go through the holy month of Ramadan, striving to strengthen our Iman and our deeds, we continue to reflect on the blessings of Allah in our life. Ramadan is the perfect time to reflect on those fellow brothers and sisters around the world that are not as fortunate as us and are struggling at this moment in life. Allah has made Zakat obligatory on us for exactly this purpose, and to purify our wealth.

Take this great opportunity! There is no better time to give Zakat Al-Maal than the month of Ramadan.

UMR is currently working on several projects around the world where your Zakat money can help the poor and destitute, those that have been forced to leave their homes.

UMR School

Through donor-led capacity development, UMR is dedicated to identifying and filling the gaps in education aid. Our goal is to increase the technical skills and expertise of our beneficiaries by delivering and administering education, both in the classroom and in the education ministry – a key part of a more systemic approach to improving education.
This low enrollment mainly attributes to the absence of access to education at all levels. In partnership with KELEM Education and Training Association, UMR successfully constructed a school with five classrooms, provided short term training for teachers, delivered scholastic materials to ensure effective teaching-learning processes, and conducted WASH training to teachers, staff and students. This school is the first of its kind in its community and supports more than 200 beneficiaries per year.
In 2016, our major education campaign was creating sustainable access to quality education facilities for drought-affected pastoralist school children in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The Afar region has one of the lowest education net enrollment ratios (NER) at 32%, far below the national average of 85%. More rural and remote Woredas within Afar have an even lower NER of 20% (Ministry of Education (MoE), 2011).

The existing poor access to education combined with the drought facing the pastoralist has severely affected the teaching learning activities. The existing poor access to education, combined with the drought facing the pastoralist, has severely affected the teaching-learning activities. Thousands of students are already out of school as they lack access to education. The majority of students have already dropped out of their school due to the effect of drought. Continued and unresolved lack of access to water has aggravated the problem. School-aged and enrolled female students are forced to miss class and drop out of school to fetch water from a very distant place. Sometimes the distance takes a whole day on foot travel for a round trip, profoundly affecting the participation of girls in education.

UMR Joins Forces with Academia to Strengthen Projects in Gaza and Bangladesh

UMR has partnered with the Access to Health (ATH) Project at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law to advance the organization’s healthcare projects in Palestine and Bangladesh. ATH is an interdisciplinary health and human rights initiative composed of graduate and faculty across Northwestern’s law, business, medicine and public health programs. The collaboration will provide ATH students with a new experiential learning opportunity working in the humanitarian sphere. Our goal is to utilize academia and research to better inform UMR’s approach to providing better healthcare access to vulnerable populations across the two regions.

In Palestine, UMR has long worked in areas like Gaza to provide basic necessities such as food, water, medical supplies, medications, medical equipment, winter items, fresh meat, children’s backpacks, and more. This time, UMR is searching for longer-term solutions to some of the challenges brought on by the limited access to resources in the Palestinian Territories. One such project will be an assessment on water access, and how UMR can increase consistent access to clean drinking water for families living in Gaza. A collaboration with the ATH team might include the development of a needs assessment, or a landscape review of the practices of other organizations to circumvent restrictive import policies that affect the delivery of international aid into Gaza.

In Bangladesh, UMR is seeking to tackle healthcare access for Rohingya women and girls, due to the fact that they make up more than half of the population of Cox’s Bazar refugee camp. A large portion of these girls and women are in their reproductive age and are in need sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services including pregnancy and delivery care, family planning services, menstrual health, safe abortion, STDs, etc. In spite of the interventions of many national and international organizations, there is a serious lack of clinical management for sexual and reproductive health care for girls and adolescents in the camps. Moreover, this group of Rohingya refugees are reluctant to seek SRH care since their healthcare seeking behavior is highly influenced by the orthodox and conservative religious and cultural values, and the continuous deprivation of services that this community experienced in their own country in Myanmar. Lack of awareness and limited access to SRH cares results sexual violence, child marriage, unintended and unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, higher rates of maternal mortality, etc. Therefore, these problems need a multidimensional approach. UMR’s partnership with ATH will seek to address these issues to make sure that SRH care is not only accessible but to also provide health education and awareness around these issues within the community.

This partnership will provide Northwestern University students who enroll in the course to research, assess and innovate new approaches to these common issues based on feedback provided by UMR, which will ultimately strengthen UMR’s interventions for years to come.

Becoming Self-Sustainable: The Struggle for Syrian Women & How UMR Intervened

By: Caroline Evashavik

Since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011, approximately 6.6 million people have fled the country out of fear for their safety – with nearly half of them being women and children. Before the war, most women were supported by men who headed their households. Abruptly forced to begin a new life on their own, without the support of their husbands, community, or family, many women found themselves struggling to build a sustainable lifestyle.

Isolation, overcrowded host-countries, and lack of work experience left Syrian refugee women with nowhere to turn – which is why UMR intervened and created the Jasmine Project. We interviewed the General Manager of the Jasmine Project to help you further understand the detrimental effects of the war on refugee women and how UMR’s commitment to this project has allowed them to reach new levels of success and self-sustainability.

Lara Shahin, a Syrian refugee and now the General Manager of UMR’s Jasmine Project based in Jordan, was experiencing the same problem that most refugee women faced when they left home. She explained, “I came to Jordan in 2012 because of the Syrian crisis. At the beginning I thought, how can I support myself or my family?”

For many women like Lara, life before the war in Syria was simpler: they had lived in the same place their whole lives, and had support from their community, family, and friends. Being the sole provider for their family was never something they thought they would have to learn. In a study done by UNHCR, it was reported that, “many women say the stress of exile has been exacerbated by assuming new burdens of responsibility. Many previously relied on men to provide for the family, handle business outside the house, and make family decisions.” These women quickly learned that they would have to take on new responsibilities and in many cases were expected to become the sole breadwinner and caretaker for their entire family – a nearly impossible task.

The average number of people living in Syrian female-headed households is about five, and attempting to find work that brings in enough money to support the entire household is particularly challenging in host countries like Jordan and Lebanon– where nationals struggled to find work prior to the influx of refugees. There is immense pressure on host countries’ resources and infrastructure; simply put, there aren’t enough jobs to support their entire population along with hundreds of thousands of refugees.

When Lara left Syria, she went to Jordan – along with over 650,000 others. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, “Over 80 per cent of Syrian refugees in Jordan live in urban centers where they face the challenge of finding sustainable work and affordable housing. Competition for limited employment opportunities can lead to tensions with the local population.” So when UMR approached Lara with the idea for Jasmine Project, it could not have come at a better time.

UMR’s Jasmine Project is a way to empower women economically through skills development and entrepreneurship training. “When I started with Jasmine I saw that I could help not just myself, but other refugees in Amman [Jordan].” The goal is to provide women with a permanent solution to the problems they face as refugees, mothers, sisters, wives, and more.

Lara explained that when the project began in 2014, “we organized training courses to support the ladies and [teach] them how to make… products to start selling at the local markets. We made beautiful, handmade products and we started to reach more ladies in Amman.” As more women learned how to use and market their skills – such as sewing and creating hygiene products – the project grew rapidly over the years. More and more women joined UMR’s Jasmine team, leading to a huge increase in the number of products sold.

In 2020, UMR saw the chance to expand the project into something even bigger. In response to the pandemic the Jasmine Project, “started making new products such as masks, hand sanitizer, soaps and more to start selling at the local market and internationally. We created the Jasmine website – which is our chance to start selling our products for the whole world.”

Now, the Jasmine women no longer have to worry about how they will find work, feed their families, or live comfortably. The income they make from their work producing products for Jasmine has allowed them to economically support their families and become the main breadwinners. Moreover, the Jasmine Project has given these women a sense of community again: it has created opportunities and transferable skills that refugee women can use to support their families, no matter how their circumstances change.

For decades, women have been fighting for equality at home, the workforce, in politics, and in every aspect of society all over the world. Massive strides towards gender equality are made every day, but unfortunately there is still much work to be done. When one woman experiences a victory, it is a victory for all. This is why UMR’s Jasmine Project is necessary; it is creating an opportunity for women to be successful, earn their own living, and not be dependent on anyone for their survival. On International Women’s Day, and every day, we want to celebrate all of the women who have joined the Jasmine Project, and are devoted to making the world a safer, stronger, and more equal place for women.

To learn more about UMR’s Jasmine Project and how you can support it, please visit www.umrelief.org/projects/jasmine-project/.

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