The war-torn countries around the globe have been forcing fleeing of the locals to nearby countries. The large percentage of refugee migration has principally been seen from war struck countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan since World War 2. Recently, millions and millions of Syrian refugees fled for shelter in their neighboring countries, but alongside their lives lack many other basic needs.
According to reports provided by Times, IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnary recently announced the initiation of a campaign to help the depressed and distressed refugees. The campaign aims to help them by donating a specific portion of its profit to the donation holders, U.N. Refugee Agency, or UNHCR. It was also mentioned that IKEA played a vital role in the same campaign, previously carried out in 2014.
The Swedish furniture maker revealed that it has decided to donate 1 euro ($1.06) to the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, for every LED product sold. The money generated from it will be used to provide light and energy from renewable resources to families living in refugee camps, as reported by CNN Money.The campaign, "Brighter Lives for Refugees" will run in over 40 countries for three weeks. Last year, the same campaign raised $11.6 million.
Europe has been receiving and dealing with biggest refugee crises since World War II. Over 850,000 people fled violence, persecution and poverty by crossing the Mediterranean. Many big companies have participated in helping refugees including Google (GOOG), Goldman Sachs (GS), Volkswagen, Zara, Ericsson, Volvo, H&M, and Brown-Forman, which donated millions of dollars to the UNHCR or other organizations.
IKEA is already the UNHCR's largest corporate partner. According to the refugee agency, since 2010 it has donated over $166 million for help purpose.This is not the first time IKEA has played its role. Earlier this year, the company designed a flat-pack family shelter for refugee families. The shelter was supplied in thousands to UNHCR's camps in Greece, Chad and Iraq, among others.
As mentioned by Tech Insider, the UN's Refugee Agency ordered around 10,000 shelters earlier this year for refugee families around the globe. But these Ikea's Better Shelters are not the ordinary shelters. They are safer, more durable, more cost effective, and generally bigger and can last for up to three years when the current UN tents only last about six months due to harsh weather conditions.
The shelters were designed by Ikea and manufactured by Better Shelter, a social enterprise run by Ikea's non-profit foundation, to help refugees fleeing war violence and conflict by "putting their needs at the heart of the development process."
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