Help Save Lives with UNICEF CANADA Survival Gifts & UNICEF 360°

When I hear about children displaced by the Syrian crisis, from the comfort of my home, I cannot grasp how desperate a situation they’re in. These displaced children and their families are in need of basic things. They need clean water, education, basic food items, medicine – all things that we take for granted in our home, because we have easy access to them. If we are sick, we run next door to the clinic. If we are hungry we go to the store. If we cannot afford a store, we go to the food bank.

These children don’t have a country anymore, a home, someone who they can rely on. Luckily, there are humanitarian organizations such as UNICEF who can provide them with basic needs: survival gifts. Remember I shared about survival gifts last year and explained what they were about it. This year, I am honored to share about them again but I want also to share about UNICEF 360°.

So what’s UNICEF 360°?

They say “a picture is worth a thousand words.” How about a virtual reality film? It gives you chills and makes you realize things you never thought could happen. This is what happened when I watched a virtual reality film from UNICEF 360. I cried and my heart went out to those displaced children in Syria.

With the help of a viewer provided by UNICEF Canada and your smartphone, you will be transported to a Syrian Refugee camp and you will be able to see how displaced children are living. Sidra, a 12 –year-old girl, will guide you through the film. She attends school, plays soccer and is eager to go back to her home. Want to see what my daughter and I saw through the viewer? Watch the video below. Bring on the tissue!

While it seems like normal activities for a 12-year-old girl, you will notice that her school is crowded and not separated in proper age groups. You will see that she has to play soccer quickly because there are many kids in the camps and they don’t have anything else to do. You will notice a sadness in her voice: she wants to get back home. She is also in need of basic items such as clean water, food, education. This is where UNICEF Canada comes in and where YOU CAN HELP.

Survival Gifts

By purchasing a survival gift, you can help these displaced children and their families go through this crisis. You will also get the chance to watch this virtual reality film.

Survival Gifts most needed in Syria.

• Emergency Gifts: Five Emergency Blankets to help protect children and families against cold temperatures ($46)
• Clean Water: 3,741 Water Purification Tablets provides ten families with enough clean drinking water for one year ($29)
• Education: School Essentials Bundle, provides 60 pencils and 30 exercise books and gives children a chance to learn ($19)

Most popular Survival Gifts with Canadians.

• Plumpy’Nut – These peanut-based, therapeutic food packs boost a malnourished child’s chance of survival. Canadians purchased more than 153,000 packets of Plumpy’Nut in 2014. Each gift is $12 and includes 21 packages of Plumpy’Nut, enough to help save the lives of seven children.
• Bed Nets—Canadians provided 8,952 bed nets in 2014 keeping children safe from malaria. For only $10, this gift provides two bed nets that help to protect four children from mosquito bites that cause malaria, one of the leading killers of children under age five.
• Vaccine Pack — Canadians provided 398,520 vaccines in 2014. Each gift is $44 and includes 58 tetanus vaccines, 58 measles vaccines and 58 polio vaccines that will guard against these life-threatening illnesses.

For a limited time, when donors purchase a featured Survival Gift, they will receive a free UNICEF 360°virtual-reality viewer.

Why would you want to get a virtual reality viewer? Because it is an eye opener for you and your family. My daughter got the chance to try it and she asked me why this little girl is sad. I took the time to explain the situation. Explaining what other children are going through is a great way to make our kids realize how lucky they are. It will raise compassionate adults and people willing to help. So why wait? Do it today. Buy a survival gift, get a viewer and help a child!

UNICEF has saved more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization. They work tirelessly all year long to help children and their families survive. They can’t do this alone, though! They need our help. Survival gifts are such an easy and meaningful way to give life-sustaining necessities to kids in need all over the world.

Save a child’s life today. Buy a Survival Gift from Unicef!

This post is brought to you by UNICEF CANADA. All opinions are my own.