The inclemency of the weather this winter has added to the suffering of Syrians. One third of the population have been forced to leave their homes, sixty percent of the houses have been reduced to rubble, and many now live out in the open. Exposed to the cold wave affecting the Middle East, the situation of hundreds of thousands of Syrians is increasingly dramatic. To tackle this emergency situation, the Sham Development Project team has launched a campaign called The Weather is Merciless. Think about Others.

The Sham Development Project focuses on aiding the displaced inside Syria and raising awareness about humanitarian issues. With this campaign, they aim to reduce the dramatic effects of the cold wave on a large segment of the Syrian population.

The Weather is Merciless is part of a larger campaign called Think about Others, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of standing in solidarity with one another in these increasingly difficult times. Their activities include delivering relief items, blankets and warm clothing, especially for the children, in addition to setting up tents for the displaced population. They maintain a database of the campaign’s beneficiaries and share updates of their work on their Facebook site.

“The most difficult issue is building trust”, one of the activist answered when asked by Syria Untold about the most challenging part of their work. “We are a very small group, and many people hesitate at first when we contact them. Also, it is increasingly difficult and dangerous for us to move inside Damascus and access the besieged areas, and the durable goods we need to buy have become extremely expensive.”

The team works in an independent manner, and does not collaborate with any armed groups to deliver goods within the areas free of regime control. “This, of course, does not keep you from being targeted. People working on humanitarian issues have been targeted by the regime from the beginning, on a regular basis”, the activist added. “But it is the price to pay if you want to do this work. Danger should not be a reason for inaction.”