Over the last weeks, the world has witnessed the immense suffering of civilians located in Eastern Ghouta.
“The numbers of people leaving Eastern Ghouta have almost doubled in the past few weeks leaving us to face a humanitarian crisis. We also heard reports of hundreds of civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure due to the violence. We are now doing our best to help those who have managed to reach safety.” said NRC’s Syria Deputy Country Director, Erik Abild.
NRC is currently at several reception sites on the outskirts of Damascus and has delivered essential aid to the almost 100,000 displaced people who have recently fled extreme violence. After being deprived of basic humanitarian assistance for almost four years they arrived exhausted, malnourished and afraid of what will come next.
NRC is one of few agencies to operate across the whole country. Against a backdrop of intense fighting, we have been working to strengthen our first-line emergency assistance and provide longer term aid wherever access and security allows.
Statoil donation put to immediate use
“It was with great gratitude that we received a phone call from Statoil, Norway’s largest multinational energy company,that informed us of their 4 million NOK donation to support our efforts in Syria. The media coverage of the extreme and critical situation in Eastern Ghouta caught Statoil’s eyes and they were shortly after familiarised with NRC’s presence and lifesaving assistance in the nearby areas.
Statoil’s donation communicates the importance of taking responsibility as a corporate actor in situations that require international support. Their commitment and engagement should be an example to follow for the whole corporate sector.Annicken Saxlund, Head of Corporate Relations Section
“We want to officially thank Statoil for their generous contribution, engagement and social responsibility. Through close contact with our teams in the field we were able to ensure that the contribution was put to use immediately. Not only does their donation ensure that our work in the region can continue and be brought up to scale, but it does also show in action the importance and essence of working together across sectors to put an end to human suffering.”
