Joint initiative showcases the power of connectivity in assisting
refugees, displaced people and those in need
Dubai, UAE-: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Facebook Company will come together for a special initiative during the last 10 days of Ramadan, with a goal to provide much needed aid to refugees and displaced people. UNHCR’s #EverySecondCounts will join forces with Facebook’s #MonthofGood to amplify fundraising efforts and donation drives before Ramadan comes to a close.
Through this collaboration, Facebook Company will lead a series of activations under its hashtag #MonthofGood to raise awareness about UNHCR’s Ramadan campaigns. People can start with a non-fundraising action such as shedding light on UNHCR’s work across the world to help drive donations or proceed to fundraise for UNHCR. This can be done by adding the donation sticker to Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories, adding a fundraiser to an Instagram post, or visiting facebook.com/fundraisers. 100% of the money raised on Facebook and Instagram will go directly to the organization. People can also use UNHCR’s crowdfunding platform ‘Giving Code’, to help spread the word.
To give more visibility to the work done by UNHCR to aid displaced families around the world, a live panel with the UNHCR team will also be hosted on Instagram Live. Moderated by UNHCR GWA, Raya AbiRached (@rayaofficial), the session will bring together Houssam Chahine, UNHCR’s Chief of Private Sector Partnerships in MENA and Derya Matras, Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey at Facebook, as well as Founder & CEO of Gould Studio, and Australia for UNHCR Ambassador Peter Gould (@petergouldart). The talk, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 28 April 2021 at 2:30pm [GST], will cover pressing issues around the refugee crisis as well as answer questions on donations and fundraising.
Houssam Chahin, UNHCR’s Chief of Private Sector Partnerships in MENA, said: “In a very short time last year, all of our lives turned around, and we had only a glimpse into the uncertainty millions of refugees and internally displaced people have felt throughout the years and continue to do so. Within seconds, millions went from being at home surrounded by loved ones and under a safe roof, to fleeing for safety and refuge, and these numbers are still increasing. We are immensely grateful to Facebook, for providing us with the platform to amplify the voices of those who have been forcibly displaced and call for public generosity and support for the cause of refugees and internally displaced people. While it took seconds for their lives to turn upside down, it can also take a second for us to lend a helping hand and share the blessings of Ramadan with those who have lost everything. In making an impact #EverySecondCounts”.
Derya Matras, Facebook’s Regional Director for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, said: “The work that the UNHCR is doing, every day, to support millions of refugees and displaced people is both inspiring and awe provoking, and we are extremely humbled to be able to play a part in their critical work. Every year, we see millions of people use the power of social connection to achieve extraordinary things for their communities – this is especially prevalent during Ramadan. Last year, we saw our global community rally behind the causes they care about on our platforms, raising over USD $5 billion through fundraisers. This year, as part of our #MonthofGood campaign, we hope to focus these efforts on helping refugees around the world by joining forces with UNHCR and the #EverySecondCounts campaign.”
#EverySecondCounts is UNHCR’s Ramadan Campaign that seeks to raise funds for those in need during the Holy Month – the families of the elderly riddled with debt, widowed mothers who cannot provide food for their children, families who do not have a roof over their heads or live with the fear of losing it. The campaign encourages the Muslim community to donate as part of their Ramadan charity activities, with previous campaigns supporting Syrian, Iraqi, Yemeni and Rohingya refugees. In Ramadan 2021, the campaign has been expanded to other emergencies including Afghanistan, Mauritania and Nigeria.
#MonthofGood is a global campaign that aims to explore, inspire and express good across its family of apps – Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. It is a celebration of charity, collaboration and community and features a number of activations and tools including the Ideas of Good, a list of 30 kind deeds and do-good moments; “Guide to Ramadan” created by Sarah Sabry in collaboration with her followers; and spotlighting zakat-eligible nonprofits with active Ramadan fundraisers with campaigns to provide food baskets, supplies and medical aid to orphans, widows and refugees around the world.