This autumn, UNHCR Canada has launched a Shelter Appeal. More than three quarters of a million Canadians have been asked to help provide shelter to refugees in Chad, Angola and Afghanistan by making a donation. One in every 20 households in the country has received a request for support, and churches, service clubs and schools have been invited to help describe the shelter requirements of refugees.

As each of us accepts the arrival of the winter season, we appreciate the value of our home. Our ‘shelter’ provides protection from the fall rain and the winter chill, and it provides a safe refuge, a private spot away from the rest of the world. At UNHCR, we believe that refugees also deserve to have shelter, a temporary home while in exile. We estimate that 5 million refugees and displaced people will turn to UNHCR for shelter this winter and we must be able to respond to their needs with tents, building materials, and support.

Of course, the UN Refugee Agency is responsible for providing more than just shelter to refugees. When refugees flee for safety, they typically leave home with only what they can carry. As soon as they stop in a place of relative safety, one of their first efforts is to construct shelter for themselves and their family. Along with water and food, shelter is a basic human need, particularly in the often inhospitable terrain where refugees find themselves.

TOP: A refugee woman in Goz Amer camp prepares a meal near her tent. Refugees have recreated their traditional shelters next to the tents for extra living space. © UNHCR/H.Caux

SLIDESHOW:
The basic need for shelter

SLIDESHOW:
Sudanese Refugees seeking Shelter in Chad