CREATING BETTER LIVES FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN Every year, conflicts and disasters force millions of children and their families to flee their homes. Many seek refuge in humanitarian camps or in cities—often for years—for safety, shelter, food, clean water and livelihood opportunities. We help refugee families through the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and leading international organisations. We do this by creating circles of prosperity, making sure refugee children have a place to call home, a healthy start, a quality education and a sustainable family income. In this way, we can offer hope for a better future.
‟This shelter feels more like a house than the tent we lived in the first night.” Bilar (not pictured), aged 11, a Syrian refugee in a UNHCR refugee camp in Greece. Read his story in the 2015 Annual Review.
Creating better lives for refugee children (page 1/2) Learn more: www.ikeafoundation.org FAST FACTS HOW WE ARE IMPROVING LIFE PARTNERS FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN
• Since 2010, we’ve committed €148 Better homes and livelihoods for Here are some of the partners we are million to UNHCR to provide shelter, refugee families working with to help refugee children access to education, livelihood The flat-pack shelter we helped create and families: opportunities and renewable energy, can be built quickly and gives families to families and children living in who lose their homes during conflicts Better Shelter Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Kenya, Burkina and disasters a more dignified life. Ground Truth Solutions Faso, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and We also support UNHCR’s search for ICVA (International Council of Jordan. innovations such as solar energy to Voluntary Organisations) improve life in refugee camps. In Kepler University • Working with social enterprise Better Bangladesh, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Shelter and UNHCR, we’ve created Ethiopia, we support programmes to Overseas Development Institute a safer and more durable shelter. In help refugees become more self- Oxfam Novib 2015, UNHCR bought 10,000 shelters reliant. Refugees United to house displaced families in several Right to Play countries, including Greece, Iraq, Improving education Save the Children Djibouti, Chad and Serbia. We fund programmes that improve Show of Force education and that help children UNHCR • Our Brighter Lives for Refugees and young people living in refugee UNICEF campaign in IKEA stores raised €30.8 camps and surrounding communities War Child million in 2014 and 2015, to bring develop the skills they need to cope sustainable lighting, energy and with adversity. These include using education to refugee camps. e-learning to help refugee children keep up with their studies, and a HOW WE ARE HELPING SYRIAN sports and play-based programme to REFUGEES bring back joy into children’s lives. We are also funding the world’s first university programme for people living inside a refugee camp in Kiziba, Rwanda.
Reconnecting displaced families Family and friends make a house a home for children. That’s why we fund innovative technology to help refugees and displaced people reconnect with separated family members worldwide.
“Working through several of our Supporting local organisations partners, we support refugee families Local organisations are often best around the world, including many of placed to help refugees and displaced those who have fled the conflict in families, as they are on the ground Syria. We are deeply concerned with and can reach the most vulnerable the recent developments in Europe— communities. We are investing in however since the vast majority of programmes to strengthen local refugees have fled to countries in the organisations that work directly with Middle East and Africa, that is where the refugees, and to help national and IKEA Foundation focuses the majority of international aid agencies work better its grant making.” together.
Per Heggenes, IKEA Foundation CEO
Creating better lives for refugee children (page 2/2) Learn more: www.ikeafoundation.org