UNICEF_2019_16-Dec_Raqqa_winter-clothes-distribution-in-Ma’ada

Aboud, 13, (in grey) and his siblings try on their new winter clothes from the UNICEF-supported winter clothing kit they received in Ma’adan city, Raqqa in the north of the Syrian Arab Republic on 16 December 2019. “Our income has been very limited since my father passed away, with only my older brother able to work,” explains Abboud who was displaced with his family almost three years ago, as violence escalated near their home in rural Raqqa.

As temperatures continue to drop, thousands of families across Syria are left unable to provide their children with warm winter clothes, after years of displacement, loss of livelihoods and inflation. To help ease the financial burden on families, UNICEF is distributing winter clothing sets to children aged 0 to 14 across the country. Each clothing kit contains a thermal outfit, a winter jacket, woolen hat, scarf and gloves, as well as winter shoes.Thanks to a generous contribution from Canada and the Department for International Development (DFID), more than 6,500 vulnerable children in Ma’adan city in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, have received winter clothes to keep them warm this season. Following a lull in violence, the city has attracted displaced families from war-ravaged areas in the northeastern region seeking safety, as well as those returning to their damaged homes, where they live in rudimentary conditions.