The hope you give: Three ways the world stood with refugees over the last year

Last year, the world came together like never before. 2022 was a difficult year filled with devastating natural disasters, escalating conflicts and the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide surpassed 100 million. Despite all this, communities around the world banded together to help others, showed love and support for one another and provided new hope to those who lost everything. USA for UNHCR’s donors and supporters stepped up to raise record-breaking funds, promote awareness and provide vital supplies for people forced to flee their homes. 

Here are three ways you stood with refugees and gave hope to millions of people in the past year:

Joining our powerful community of donors

Over the last year, more people than ever stepped up to help those who were forced to flee their homes because of war, violence and persecution. Americans showed compassion for strangers in their communities and on the other side of the world by donating to USA for UNHCR and helping to provide vital supplies,—like food, shelter and water—protection services, livelihood training, opportunities for education and more to those in need. More than 164,000 new people joined our powerful community of donors, making our impact stronger than ever.

With your support, UNHCR provided life-saving assistance in active emergencies across 32 different countries including newly declared emergencies in 25 countries. In 2022, public and private donors contributed $3.5 billion to help people forced to flee their homes.

Uplifting refugee voices

Every action you took, whether it was donating, fundraising, signing a petition or sharing a post on social media, helped displaced people all over the world. Haya and Ghena, our featured storytellers from last year’s Storytellers Celebration, are just a few of the many young voices that have been uplifted by your support. Our young storytellers have the same hopes and dreams as anyone else and for Haya and Ghena—having a platform means they can tell their family’s story, advocate for other refugees and further their passion for protecting the environment. 

You helped refugee voices like Haya and Ghena’s reach new levels last year by engaging with USA for UNHCR’s social media posts 373,212 times. For every like, share and comment you left, refugee stories were brought to more people’s attention; and those who previously knew nothing about refugees not only read their stories but started empathizing with them as individuals and joining the cause to help. You can find more original stories featuring refugees and resettled refugees at Refugee Voices in Your Community. 

Raising funds to help the people of Ukraine

When war erupted in Ukraine, you stepped in to help. This incredible community donated more than $105 million to help those fleeing violent conflict, who lost their homes and left behind everything they’ve ever known. Your donations made it possible for UNHCR to protect and give hope to millions of Ukrainians displaced in the country, in neighboring countries and across Europe. 

Many internally displaced people in Ukraine are living in new parts of the country as a result of ongoing fighting. Your support allowed UNHCR to reach 4.01 million people inside Ukraine last year with critical emergency assistance, and provide emergency relief items and cash assistance. Of the nearly 8 million Ukrainian refugees who were forced to flee to countries throughout Europe, at least 273,000 people were provided with legal, social and psychological support at 39 Blue Dots across eight countries.

Your support gave hope to people in need, young and old, like Tamara and her granddaughter Milania. Tamara and Milania’s home in Bobrovytsya, Ukraine was heavily damaged during the war last year. The windows were blown out and the roof needed repair, making the house unfit to shelter them during the brutal winter season. But thanks to generous donations from compassionate Americans like you, the UN Refugee Agency was able to repair Tamara and Milania’s house and ensure the family stayed safe and warm this winter.

How you can help…

There are so many ways for you to take action and help displaced people. You can join our amazing community of donors by becoming a monthly contributor, follow USA for UNHCR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok to help uplift refugee voices and discover even more ways to get involved on our How to Help page.