In October 2025, we held our first ever Giving Day and smashed our ambitious fundraising target – thanks to generous donors like you.
But while Giving Day may be over, the emergencies continue. You can still donate to help families fleeing crisis.
Right now, millions of people are displaced around the world. War, persecution and natural disasters are wreaking havoc – forcing families to uproot their lives and flee at a moment’s notice.
In an emergency, there’s no time to waste.
You can ensure that UNHCR’s Emergency Response Teams are ready to act, whenever and wherever disaster strikes. With your donation, our teams can be on the ground with vital aid within 72 hours, saving lives.
Your gift today means that UNHCR can help families in need tomorrow – providing safe shelter, clean water, healthcare and more.
Every donation makes a difference – please give now.
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Ukrainians have endured over three years of full-scale war. Deadly strikes continue to tear families apart, with a baby and pensioners among those tragically killed in recent attacks. The situation is especially dire in communities close to the frontlines, where many people are cut off from power and water.
Your Giving Day donation can help Ukrainian families flee violence, find safe shelter and get back on their feet.
The war in Sudan has created the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 12 million people forced to flee. Not only are families desperately seeking safety and protection – they're also seeking food. Around half the population faces extreme levels of hunger, with famine confirmed in at least 10 locations.
Your Giving Day donation can provide malnutrition screening for Sudanese children and give families emergency cash to buy food and medicine.
The people of Afghanistan have faced crisis after crisis. A devastating earthquake recently flattened villages and killed thousands of people in the east of the country. Meanwhile, hunger and poverty are rife, and millions of women and girls are unable to exercise their basic human rights.
Your Giving Day donation can provide survival essentials such as tents, blankets and solar lamps for Afghans who are barely holding on.
The country is at a crossroads following the collapse of the Assad regime in late 2024. While many families are hoping for a peaceful, stable future, the reality on the ground is harsh. Homes have been destroyed and communities reduced to rubble. Around 90 per cent of Syrians are living in poverty and struggling to survive.
Your donation can provide families with survival kits, emergency cash and psychological support, giving them a chance to recover and rebuild after so many years of war.
MEET THE PEOPLE YOU’RE SUPPORTING
Ukraine has endured four years of full-scale war. With no end to the conflict in sight, your donations are a lifeline for families facing relentless attacks.
Thanks to you, courageous individuals like Halyna, 55, and her son Mykola, 32, are receiving emergency support.
Halyna and Mykola live together in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine. When a drone struck near their home, it shattered all the windows and damaged the roof.
“I had just gone to bed when it hit just five metres from our house,” says Halyna. “The glass shattered. It was terrifying. My son ran in to check if I was alive. I am, thank God. The rest we can survive.”
With support from generous donors like you, UNHCR and partners are ready to leap into action after attacks like this.
Dedicated teams worked rapidly to cover the windows and doors, offering immediate protection until more permanent repairs were possible. Halyna and Mykola also received much-needed psychological support.
Your donations on Giving Day and throughout the year are essential – helping to save lives and give Ukrainians hope. With your help, they can find safety and support when they need it most.
Hamid is a 35-year-old housewife and mother of three from the Darfur region, which has been battered in the brutal civil war that broke out in April 2023.
One day, armed men invaded her home, beat her, and seized her husband. But the worst wasn’t over. Just one month later, an explosion killed Hamid’s twin daughters and their grandmother.
Despite her grief, Hamid still had her 18-month-old son, Emad, to protect. She decided to flee to Libya – a very dangerous journey through the desert. When their truck broke down, Hamid and Emad were stranded for three days.
“We were in a really, really bad situation,” says Hamid. “In that moment I thought, ‘me too, I will die here’. Despite it all, this journey was better than staying in Sudan.”
Hamid and Emad finally made it to Tripoli, but were homeless for several weeks. A kind Sudanese family took them in, however, their financial situation was also precarious. When Emad fell ill, Hamid didn’t know what to do.
Kind donors like you provided Hamid with cash assistance when she needed it most. With an emergency cash payment from UNHCR, Hamid was able to rent an apartment with two other refugee families and pay for medicine for Emad.
Your donation does more than deliver vital supplies such as tents and blankets. It also gives dignity, choice and independence – helping refugees solve problems and get back on their feet faster.
As you may have heard, Pakistan and Iran are deporting Afghan refugees or pressuring them to leave. In 2025, over 2.5 million Afghans were forced to return to a country mired in humanitarian crisis.
Qasim’s family fled Afghanistan when he was just seven. After two decades in Pakistan, he was forced to abandon his tailoring business and leave Rawalpindi at very short notice.
“They would arrest and harass us,” says Qasim. “There were many problems and we were facing difficult conditions. We only brought some of our belongings with us, the rest stayed behind.”
At the Afghan border, Qasim’s family received much-needed cash assistance from UNHCR. These payments help families meet their most urgent needs, such as food, medicine, rent and transport.
“It is very good, because we have just arrived. We can buy food and pay for the treatment of a sick family member,” says Qasim. “This kind of assistance is also very good for other Afghans. Many of them are newly arrived, just like us. They don’t have homes, some don’t have work, and with this help, they can begin rebuilding their lives.”
Qasim’s priorities are to find a home to rent and to begin working as a tailor again. In the face of so much uncertainty, he shows remarkable strength and determination.
“It will take time, but I won’t lose hope,” says Qasim.
Your donation is much more than a tent, a blanket or a cash payment. For someone in need, it’s a vital reminder that they’re not alone.
Asaliya is a resilient shopkeeper and mother of six in Syria. She spent 13 years living as a refugee in Lebanon, struggling each day to make ends meet. When Lebanon became unsafe in late 2024, she decided to uproot her life once again and try to rebuild in Syria.
But when Asaliya returned to her village in the Qalamoun mountains, close to the Lebanese border, she found her home completely destroyed. She didn’t know how she would begin to recover.
Kind donors like you provided Asaliya with small business training and a cash grant, empowering her to launch her own clothing shop. Her income is already covering her monthly rent for the business. Her ultimate dream is to earn enough to build a modest house for her family.
“I hope I can build a small home, even if it’s just one or two rooms, to shelter my children,” Asaliya says. She is also determined to keep her 15-year-old daughter in school.
Kind supporters like you have helped Syrians at every stage of their journey – from fleeing war, to finding safety, and creating long-term stability. Thank you for standing with Syrians through it all.
Last year alone, UNHCR responded to 43 humanitarian crises. The emergencies keep coming. We don’t know when the next one will strike. But, with your support, we’ll be ready to respond.
It’s a special day of giving! For 24 hours only, a generous supporter agrees to match donations up to a certain limit. For every dollar donated, this supporter also gives a dollar – providing twice as much emergency relief to refugees.
Giving Day is an exciting opportunity for supporters to make the greatest impact possible.
Right now, millions of people are forcibly displaced. Conflict, disaster and persecution are forcing people to flee for their lives, including children. A Giving Day donation ensures that UNHCR can help twice as many families fleeing emergencies – providing safe shelter, clean water, medicine and much more.
Gift matching is when your donation is matched by another supporter.
For example, if you donate $50, a generous supporter will match your donation with their $50. The total gift of $100 goes to Australia for UNHCR to support families in humanitarian emergencies around the world.
With your gift matched, you will have a much greater impact than you could alone.
This special day encourages people to give generously, as it’s an opportunity to double your impact and reach as many people in need as possible.
With these funds, UNHCR’s Emergency Response Teams can be ready to act, whenever and wherever the next disaster strikes. From Ukrainians fleeing war, to Sudanese facing famine, to Afghans recovering from earthquakes – UNHCR’s dedicated teams are there to deliver life-saving aid and help people through their darkest hours.
Your donation will ensure that UNHCR is ready to respond to the next conflict or crisis.
In 2024, UNHCR responded to a staggering 43 humanitarian emergencies. The disasters don’t stop coming, so neither can our support.
With your donations, UNHCR’s teams can be on the ground within 72 hours, saving lives.
Our first ever Giving Day was held in October 2025, but we are looking forward to planning more! We don’t have a date yet, but you can sign up to our newsletter or follow us on social media to be the first to hear.
Yes, corporate giving is very welcome! Anyone can get involved, including businesses, community groups and philanthropists. Corporates might like to get involved by offering to match employees’ donations. They might also like to involve their teams in Giving Day activities to help meet their company’s social impact objectives.
If your company is interested in participating in a Giving Day, please reach out to our Corporate Partnerships Manager, Anyier Yuol, on 0423 660 332 or at ayuol@unrefugees.org.au.
