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Adapting to the changing seasons

23 March 2015

UNRWA programmes are designed to bolster the resilience of Palestine refugees in Syria throughout the course of the year. As spring approaches after an intensely cold winter, funding from donors like UK Aid is essential to maintaining the core services and development programmes for refugees whose ability to cope has been worn down by four years of conflict.

In 2014, UK Aid gave UNRWA GBP 5.9 million (US$9.1 million) in funding for cash assistance,  announcing an additional GBP 2.2 million (US$3.6 million) in support in December 2014. This provided two months of cash grants to vulnerable Palestine refugees, as well as winter clothing for up to 400 families, including those from the besieged neighbourhood of Yarmouk.

Caption: Spring 2015 will mark the fourth anniversary of the armed conflict in Syria. Qabr Essit, Damascus. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad The ongoing hostilities have left over 95 per cent of the 480,000 Palestine refugees remaining in Syria wholly reliant on UNRWA for their minimum daily needs, including food, clothing and shelter. Qabr Essit, Damascus. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad. Many Palestine refugees live in accommodation which offers little protection from the seasons. These family members are among the 11.868 displaced Palestine refugees and Syrians living in temporary UNRWA collective shelters. They share a re-purposed classroom with three other families. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad.Cash assistance is the lynchpin of the UNRWA humanitarian response in Syria. In a recent UNRWA evaluation, the majority of respondents stated that cash assistance was the most useful form of humanitarian aid, giving them the ability to respond to their changing needs. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad.Cash grants, alongside the UNRWA food assistance programme, ensure Palestine refugees meet their minimum nutritional needs. Each food parcel provides 700kcal per person daily, for one month. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad.Cash assistance allows Palestine refugees to supplement their diets with fresh fruit and vegetables and keeps small local economies and employment opportunities afloat. Alliance, Damascus. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad.This mother cooks fresh vegetables from the market for her children. Critically, cash and food assistance keeps important family and cultural traditions. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad.Spring can bring unsettled weather. Because many displaced Palestine refugees in Syria fled their homes with only the clothes on their backs, cash assistance gives them some flexibility to buy clothing in response to the changing seasons. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad.Due to the security situation in Syria, some families are unable to access markets or cash distribution points. In January 2015, UK Aid funding provided UNRWA with 400 winter clothing kits for particularly vulnerable families, including those in the besieged neighbourhood of Yarmouk. © 2014 UNRWA Photo. As the conflict in Syria passes its fourth anniversary, the needs of the Palestine refugee population are deepening. UNRWA requires US$ 415.4 million to meet minimum needs of Palestine refugees affected by the Syria crisis in the region in 2015. © 2014 UNRWA Photo by Taghrid Mohammad.

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