Humanitarian Relief for Yemen

Between May and July, the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation implemented a number of activities — including distributing food baskets, providing financial support to orphans and families in need, supporting vocational training, empowering families with income generation projects, covering medical expenses for families in need, building water tanks and trucking clean water, and more.

Between May and July, we distributed food baskets to 11,211 families benefiting over 67,000 individuals, across over 30 cities in Yemen, including Aden, Radaa, Dhamar, Ibb, Taiz, Hadramout, Sana’a. These food baskets sustain families for one month at a time when over 75% of the population lives below the poverty line. We also provided support to 4 food banks feeding 5,000 people a day.

Providing financial support and vocational training to orphans in Yemen

The ongoing war in Yemen has left more than 1 million children without a proper support. In fact, 1.2 million children have been reported in 2019 as orphans in Yemen — from which less than 5% have been sponsored.

Our orphan projects provide sustainable support for families caring for orphans less than 18 years of age across Yemen. Without this support, these families would be struggling to feed their members, as they have lost the sole provider for the family.

Between May and July, we provided financial support to an average of 696 orphans per month, and our orphans roaster is increasing.

We also offered vocational training to 58 orphans between the ages of 14-18 in several cities. The training included computer literacy, cell phones repairs, and solar panel installation, maintenance and repair. These topics have a good employment opportunities, preparing the children for potential job opportunities as they graduate from high school or increase their chances of being accepted at universities.

Launching income generation projects and distributing meat

In addition to distributing food baskets, another way we provide economic self reliance to families by increasing our income-generating projects. Between May and July, we distributed sheep and chicken to 95 families. During Eid Al-Adha festival, we distributed meat to 6500 families throughout Yemen. This is most likely, the only time these families have had meats in their homes the whole year.

Building water tanks to deliver clean water in Yemen

An estimated 18 million people in Yemen lack access to clean of water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance — making clean and safe drinking water crucial for the health and survival of children and their families and for preventing cholera. Between May and July, we provided 9 poor neighborhoods in Yemen with water tanks and truck water daily to these areas so that they can have access to clean water. An estimated 1500 persons benefit from our access to clean water projects per day.

In 2017, the UN declared Yemen the world’s largest humanitarian disaster — fast-forward three years to 2020, and the situation in Yemen was more dire. Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to accomplish a lot in 2020, including distributing food baskets, launching income-generation projects, helping in the fight against COVID-19, conducting flood relief efforts, supporting orphaned children, donating winter clothing, and distributing school supplies.

In 2020, famine continued to sweep across the country and more and more families fell below the poverty line. According to the UN, an estimated 13.5 million Yemenis are currently at risk of starvation, and close to 17,000 people are already living in famine conditions. In November 2020, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that Yemen is now in imminent danger of the worst famine the world has seen for decades.

Thanks to your generous donations, in 2020 we distributed food baskets to 19,862 families to sustain them for ONE month, totaling 139,043 people — of which 70,912 are children. During major holidays, such as Feast of the Sacrifice, we distributed 2+ kilograms of meat per family — providing 4,587 families (32,109 people) with much-needed protein nourishment.

According to the UNDP, an estimated 79% of families in Yemen live under the poverty line. At the Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation, our goal is to provide sustainable aid by providing Yemenis across the country with means to create their own income.

Thanks to your generous donations, in 2020 we launched two main income-generation projects — donating sheep to 155 families and roosters and hen to 300 families to provide these families with a sustainable mean to access nourishment and increase income.

The year 2020 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, Yemen’s healthcare system was already collapsing due to the weakened economy and war, and COVID-19 exacerbated the situation by increasing pressure on an already-strained healthcare system. According to the UN, Yemen’s COVID-19 case fatality rate, at 28%, remains much higher than the global average, and experts believe that most cases were not reported.

Thanks to your generous donations in 2020, we donated medical supplies to COVID-19 isolation centers and hospitals — including 1,500 COVID-19 reagent kits, 11,600 gloves, 1,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, 5,000 headcovers, 3,000 medical face masks, 1,024 face shields, 200 protective suits, 10 reusable medical respirators, 10 reusable medical shoes, and 20 AC units. We also donated tens of thousands of locally-made masks to those who cannot afford them.

In 2020, Yemen was hit by unusual floods in both April and August. A report on the April 2020 floods indicated that more than 100,000 people across the country were impacted by the torrential rains and flooding — with many missing and countless families losing their homes and livelihoods.

In August 2020, Yemen faced even more torrential rains and extreme flooding, which damaged infrastructure, destroyed homes and shelters, and led to deaths and injuries. According to UN reports, an estimated 300,000 people lost their homes, livelihoods, income, belongings, and food. Figures from Yemen’s Ministry of Health and Population indicate that 131 people have died due to the floods and 125 were injured across northern governorates alone. An additional 106 homes and businesses were destroyed and another 156 were damaged.

Thanks to your generous donations in 2020, we were able to assist flood-stricken areas by, first, conducting an assessment of the flood’s impact and identifying which areas and families need food and shelter and, later, our team provided those families with the help they need — whether it is food baskets or clothing.

Many children in Yemen are robbed of their childhoods due to the ongoing war and, sadly, the war in Yemen has led to the death of thousands across the country — leaving many children orphaned. Local organizations estimate that there are 1.1 million orphaned children in Yemen who need financial support for essential items such as food, clothing, and school costs.

Thanks to your generous donations in 2020, we were able to provide financial support to 364-400 families that are caring for orphaned children across the country.

Winters in the highlands of Yemen are very cold — with temperatures dipping to below 0 °C (32.0 °F). In many areas, temperatures go to – 6 °C. There are an estimated 3.1 million internally displaced people with no protection against severe temperatures in the country — and, unfortunately, most families in need lack the funds to purchase what they need to stay warm in the winter.

Thanks to your generous donations in December 2020, we were able to donate 379 blankets to internally displaced families in the highlands of Yemen.

Many schools in Yemen have been damaged due to the war, and many families are not able to provide essential school items for their children. According to the UN, an estimated 2 million children in Yemen are out of school and another 3.7 million are at risk of dropping out.

Thanks to your generous donations in 2020, we were able to reach 2,518 children in areas across the country — from the highlands of Hajjah to the desert areas of Al-Jaw — and provide them with much-needed school bags and supplies.

In 2020, we were able to massively scale our aid efforts in Yemen, thanks to you and your generosity. These accomplishments would not have been possible without you. With your donations, thousands of families were able to put food on the table, orphans were able to get the financial support they need, health workers fighting COVID-19 were able to get essential medical supplies, thousands of children are able to attend school with the supplies they desperately need, and more. We worked in various areas, most are difficult terrains. Our commitment to reach the hardest hit and those who are hard to reach will continue in 2021.

Back in February, we outlined some of the goals we’d like to accomplish this year in Yemen. Little did we know that within a few short weeks, a pandemic— COVID-19 — would start sweeping the country. Yemen was already facing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 22M people in need of aid and 14M at risk of famine. Today, Yemen needs us more than ever.

Since then, we have been hard at work. Thanks to the support of our donors and volunteers, between March and mid-June we:

• Distributed food baskets to 4,000 families, totaling 24,000 people across the country, specifically Sana’a, Hodeida, Hajjaa, Rada’a, Aden, Amraan, Saada, Aljawf, Almahweet, Dhamar, Ibb, Taiz, Raemah, and Lahj governorates. Food baskets were also distributed to cancer and kidney dialysis patients at Aljomhori Hospital and Kuwait Hospital.
• Provided financial support for over 350 orphans each month across the country — totaling 1,400 children allowances in four months. During Eid, we delivered Eid funds for purchasing gifts and Eid goodies to orphans in institutions.
• Launched two egg-laying hens projects. With this project, we are able to provide eggs, protein, and nourishment to families in need, as well as an opportunity for income through sales of extra eggs and offsprings. We launched these projects in Saada and Sana’a, distributing 950 hens and 100 roosters total. Collectively, both of these projects will benefit 100 needy families, each of which will receive 9-10 egg-laying hens and one rooster.
• Started an income generation project in Hudaydah distributing sheep to 20 families.

With the COVID-19 outbreak, we have also shifted our efforts to help on that front. Yemen’s population is estimated to be around 29 million. Similar to other countries across the world, COVID-19 test kits are limited. Yemen, however, has the worst situation with only 31 test kits per one million citizens. Additionally, an estimated 60 healthcare workers on the frontline have died while trying to save the lives of others due to lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on Yemen, we:

• Delivered 500 COVID-19 test kits to Sana’a and another 500 test kits to Aden in February — becoming the first organization to do so.
• Sent an additional 960 COVID-19 test kits, 1,600 gloves, as well as PCR tubes, pipet tips, and other medical equipment to some of the hardest-hit areas, including Aden, Hodeida, Mukalla, Sayon, Sana’a, and Taiz.
• Donated 10 air conditioning units to a COVID-19 isolation center in Hodeida.

Our relief efforts over the last few months would have not been possible without your help. Thank you for your donations and your support for Yemen.