Each year as the holiday season approaches, we are all bombarded with messages of consumerism. Signs and billboards, adverts and jingles lay out for us the things we should buy, services we should use, activities and travel that must be booked. Special days, now popular across the globe, promote this culture through sales and deals that cannot be missed for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and so on. The excitement and energy of the holiday season is undeniable and irresistible for many, but this can also be the hardest time of year for others, whose circumstances and needs are very different from our own.
Giving Tuesday offers us a chance to pause and consider the impact we could have on the lives of others. For the price of a new gadget, or toy, a short flight or even a simple coffee or cab ride, we could be a beacon of hope and change in someone’s life. It’s easy to dismiss such a sentiment as an oversimplification of charitable giving, of being trite or insincere, however the reality is that the impact of even the most modest donation, in the hands of an organization who prioritizes operational spending over administration, can really provide a service or a good that could be a catalyst for change in a person’s darkest hour.
MOAS’ fundraising team, and our tireless operational unit and incredible volunteers, work hard all year round to demonstrate the power of giving and testify to the impact of each penny we are given. This year we are asking you to consider including the communities we serve in your holiday season spending. A donation now could change a person’s future.
We’re often asked ‘What can my donation really achieve?’- it’s a question we love to answer as it shows a donor’s real interest in the value of their gift and in the change it will make in the life of another. We are proud to be transparent and to show how far your money really goes. So let us answer that question and show you the difference a monetary gift can make this season:
In Bangladesh a gift of just 10 Euros will allow us to pay local tailors in need of work to make a throwbag that will be used in our life-saving Flood and Water Safety Training. These tailors support their own families through the livelihood this kind of project gives them and we provide them with upskilling and training that benefit them well beyond our own projects.
The throwbags are then used to provide training to Rohingya and Bangladeshi volunteers who sign up to protect their communities from the devastating and life-threatening effects of the monsoon season. This 2-day practical training course in Flood and Water Safety costs 50 Euros to deliver to each person and not only equips them with knowledge and skills but also equipment and response strategies.
As well as the above, our teams are also preparing these volunteers to respond to fires in the camps and do risk mapping and response. A fire Safety Backpack costs just 75 Euros to provide and will allow volunteers to enter the hardest to reach areas of refugee camps with the means to tackle a blaze and limit the devastation it can cause.
100 Euros allows us to be by the bedside of someone in hospital, providing material and social support to those struggling alone. Some migrants arriving in Europe have no friends or family here and face the intimidating reality of hospital treatment and long-term care as they struggle with language, trauma and a lack of resources. MOAS volunteers are there for them, providing translation, advocacy and supplies where needed.
Millions of children in Yemen, Somalia and Syria are on the brink of starvation. They are the most innocent victims of circumstance as political instability, climate change and COVID exacerbate global food insecurity. Your 250 Euro donation allows MOAS’ logistics team to deliver desperately needed malnutrition treatments to 100 children, saving their lives in the process.
We believe education is the gateway to independence and integration for asylum seekers and migrants who have risked their lives for a better life. Many are denied this education due to a lack of resources and opportunities. For just 500 Euros you could support someone’s education for a whole year and change their life’s trajectory.
Finally, we have incredible and wonderful families willing to open their homes to particularly vulnerable asylum seekers as part of a family hosting project. Some of these families need some extra support to be able to welcome an additional family member into their homes. MOAS provides learning resources, pocket money, support from a social worker and covers other expenses with your help. Just 2,500 Euros facilitates a 1 year placement for a vulnerable young person in our family hosting project.
We ask you, at this time of year more than any other, to include those less fortunate in your plans for the season. Whether you have a lot to share, or are giving the little you can, we appreciate your participation in our campaigns for the season and we hope you’ll join us as we lay the groundwork for our 2022 programming. Our global community of supporters has always been the backbone of MOAS’ capacity and now is no different. We need to if we are to be able to continue our life-saving and valuable humanitarian work.
Give what you can today and know that you are becoming the change we need to see in the world.
Join the Giving Tuesday campaign tomorrow at www.moas.eu/giving-tuesday-2021 or give right now at www.moas.eu/donate
Email our team at [email protected] with any questions and let’s come together to create a better future for those who need our support.
