In the end, money matters

After the past three days, our heads are swirling with so many different impressions. So many good and encouraging, but also so many sad stories waiting to be told to family, friends and colleagues at home.

We think about what we would say if we must sum it all up in one sentence. This is when we eventually realise that all the good and important work we have seen done by UNHCR and so many other organisations would not have been possible without sufficient funding. And there is so much more to be done—but with the conflict being in its fourth year and new conflicts around the globe, the world’s interest is in decline, which directly results in funding cuts to the Syrian refugees in Jordan.

In some way, on a broad level, this has to be expected. But we have seen locally, on a personal level, what the outcomes are. We have heard from the Syrian people themselves how the reduction in the amount of food vouchers affects them on a daily basis. We have seen with our own eyes what it means to be judged “not being vulnerable enough” to be granted access to the cash assistance programme (see “Living in the shadows. Jordan home visit report 2014” UNHCR Media summary, available on UNHCR’s website).

In the end, this visit has encouraged us as private persons to be more proactive in donating to those in need. Further, this visit has encouraged us as IKEA co-workers to fully embrace and support the IKEA Good Cause campaigns (Soft Toys for Education and Brighter Lives for Refugees). And we truly hope that these lines and the daily blogs have raised awareness for the Syrian people in Jordan also with you as a reader. Our personal one-sentence summary: Every amount, no matter how small we believe it to be, does make a huge change for those in need!