Since the start of troubles in March 2011 an estimated 4 million Syrian people have fled their homes, over half a million are children. Most are living in cold, damp and cramped conditions across Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey in flimsy makeshift shelters with no heating, electricity or hot water. They are ill-equipped to cope with the harsh winter climate as many left their homes with little or no belongings. Thousands of Syrian Kurds have fled over the border into Kurdistan and are being accommodated in tented refugee camps.

In November 2012, ShelterBox delivered 500 winterized disaster relief tents along with other aid designed for cold conditions, bringing shelter and warmth to 500 families living at Domiz refugee camp. The British charity is now supporting over 40,000 people living in the large camp outside Dohuk, Iraq. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, groundsheets, water storage and filtration equipment, cooking utensils, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items. 

The GardaWorld team in Erbil recently donated local funds to purchase several ShelterBoxes and in March 2013, Pete Dordal our Senior Vice President visited the Dohuk camp to meet with the Camp Administrator and see how our ‘ShelterBoxes’ were being used. As far as refugee camps go the camp is very well run and organized, but it serves as a stark reminder of how tough some peoples’ lives are. If you would like to support the camp more details are available on their website https://www.shelterbox.org/index.php