Campaign Ended
As winter approaches, millions of Syrians face life-threatening cold without adequate shelter, heating, or warm clothing. SYCAC's Winter Survival campaign delivers emergency warmth—blankets, fuel, winterized shelters, and clothing—to displaced families and vulnerable communities. Your donation provides immediate protection and builds lasting resilience to save lives this winter and beyond.
Every winter, displaced Syrian families huddle in makeshift shelters with no heat, watching their children shiver through nights that can drop below freezing, knowing that one illness could be catastrophic.
Across Syria and refugee communities in Turkey, over 4.5 million people face severe winter conditions without adequate shelter, heating fuel, or warm clothing. Families living in tents, unfinished buildings, and overcrowded shelters are particularly vulnerable—women and children make up 80% of those at highest risk. The combination of displacement, poverty, and destroyed infrastructure means that for many, winter is not just uncomfortable; it is life-threatening. Respiratory infections, hypothermia, and waterborne diseases spike dramatically during the cold months, overwhelming already fragile healthcare systems.
This winter, your support can be the difference between survival and tragedy—donate now to deliver life-saving warmth to Syria's most vulnerable families.
Through this campaign, SYCAC will reach 8,000 displaced families (approximately 40,000 individuals, 60% children and elderly) across Syria and Turkey with comprehensive winter support. Direct outcomes include the distribution of 12,000 blankets and thermal clothing sets, provision of heating fuel to sustain families through 120 days of winter, and winterization of 3,500 shelters. Expected impact: a 70% reduction in winter-related illness among beneficiaries, zero preventable deaths from hypothermia in participating communities, and strengthened community preparedness through 45 awareness sessions on safe heating practices. Long-term, communities will possess enhanced capacity to respond to future winters independently, breaking cycles of crisis-driven vulnerability.
By Abdullah Sultan | Executive Director
The Syria Warm Winter Campaign was launched in January at the peak of severe weather conditions affecting displacement sites across northwest Syria, where flooding and harsh cold significantly worsened already fragile living conditions. The campaign messaging highlighted urgent needs among vulnerable groups, particularly women, children, and persons with disabilities, focusing on gaps in shelter, heating, and access to essential winter items.
Despite timely outreach and clear articulation of needs, the campaign did not mobilize financial contributions at the expected level, and no funding was secured during the core winter period. As a result, planned distributions of winterization assistance such as clothing, blankets, heating fuel, and shelter upgrades could not be implemented.
However, the needs identified through the campaign remain valid. Intermittent storms and cold weather conditions continue to affect displacement sites, and structural vulnerabilities linked to inadequate shelter, limited coping capacities, and protracted displacement persist. These conditions continue to expose affected populations to health risks and deepening socio-economic strain.
The campaign has nonetheless contributed to maintaining visibility of winter-related vulnerabilities and has generated useful contextual analysis that can inform future interventions. It also highlighted the importance of flexible and early funding mechanisms to respond to seasonal risks in a timely manner.
Moving forward, there is a continued need to address residual winter impacts while transitioning toward more durable, resilience-oriented support that strengthens community preparedness for future seasonal shocks.
