SEED Foundation has started its Winter Donation Drive for 2019 to benefit internally-displaced persons (IDPs), refugees — including the most recent to arrive in the Kurdistan Region from northeastern Syria — as well as those in need as temperatures plummet toward freezing through the winter months. We are grateful for the support of three local organizations who are serving as drop-off locations: Babylon Media, Fig Club, and Fingerprints.

We are collecting warm and clean clothes, bags, shoes, blankets, diapers, hygiene items like shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, sanitary pads, diapers, and razors. More than 15,000 refugees from Syria have been counted by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in camps, predominantly in Duhok, where SEED staff is delivering Psychological First Aid (PFA) to address immediate mental health needs. 

The unexpected influx of people fleeing violence in Syria has forced many NGOs to re-allocate their resources in order to focus on emergency response. The KRG Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC)  expects the number of refugees to reach 50,000 in the coming weeks. In its most recent report, the JCC counts 258,314 refugees and IDPs in the Kurdistan Region — including the new arrivals and those previously displaced predominantly due to the conflict with ISIS. The demands are in addition to 791,000 displaced persons from Iraq.

The JCC says the IDPs and refugees are “in dire need of winter items” and “of all forms of assistance” in its latest report titled ‘Winterization Needs for the Displaced Populations.’ If you prefer to donate financially, you can do so through our website  — anonymously or signed. For example, many women and girls are in need of basic hygiene kits. 

Partners and drop-off locations in Erbil include:

Students only:

In-kind donations are currently being accepted and will continue through late-December. Drop-offs can be made from Sunday to Thursday at the aforementioned locations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Donate items which you no longer need, and challenge your friends, family, and colleagues to match your kindness.