Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen (How You Can Help)
Updated: Nov 26, 2020
International Rescue Committee (IRC) assesses various risk factors across the globe. It provides an annual report of the areas determined to be most vulnerable to humanitarian deterioration. For the second year in a row, Yemen is on top of the list. The remaining countries in the 2020 report can be found here.
Yemen is a country of nearly 30 million people located in Western Asia, on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, between Saudi Arabia to the north and the Red Sea to the west. It is the second-largest Arab sovereign state and is also its most impoverished.
What is Happening?
Yemen’s number one spot on IRC’s 2020 Watchlist for the second year running is attributed to a prolonged civil war that has displaced nearly 4 million people since 2015. In addition to displaced people, an estimated 91,600 people have been killed since 2015. Over 20 million people (80% of the population) require emergency assistance and relief in Yemen.
Yemeni people are living in unsanitary conditions and without clean drinking water. These conditions have led to the worst epidemic of cholera recorded. In 2019, over 700 people died of cholera.
Two-thirds of the population are at risk of starvation.
Relentless war is preventing food and fuel from entering the country.
Hospitals are unable to run generators for power because they do not have diesel fuel.
Critical medical supplies, including antibiotics, have been depleted, making it difficult to combat the ongoing cholera outbreak and other health crises.
How You Can Help
1. Donate to vetted relief funds and charitable organizations. Donating money and time offers the most immediate impact. If you have the resources to give, please do this or item #2 first. The unstable situation in Yemen requires more practical action than thoughts and prayers. We should complement our magical efforts with practical efforts in this dire situation, for those of us with the means to do so. Organizations like the ones listed below are high-impact in areas like Yemen. They are the boots on the ground, and they know better than we do what Yemenis need at any given moment. Sometimes the best role we can play is that of supporter to an organization that has more influence than we have on our own.
2. Sponsor a refugee child through a reputable children’s sponsorship organization. Child sponsorship is another high-impact action you can take. Your continued monthly donations provide resources to both the child you sponsor as well as their family and other refugee children in their community. This fund-managing model is standard for most reputable child sponsorship organizations.
3. Meditate for peace in Yemen and the dissolution of war. Even better: utilize our community and schedule a synchronized meditation or a synchronized ritual with other witches. We are powerful as one, but more powerful together. Let’s hold Yemen in our prayers, meditations, and petitions.
4. Contribute rituals, spells, and chants to Witches Healing the Earth. If you are comfortable creating or sharing a group ritual, many of our members would love inspiration. Write a ritual and share it on the blog. If you are interested in contributing, please read this article.
5. Consider donating part of your proceeds to a reputable charity, such as one listed below. If you are a witchy entrepreneur, consider marking a portion of your profits to be donated to charity, either in your name, your client’s name, or the name of Witches Healing the Earth. Consider using your platform to inspire action, both practically and magically, in our global community of witches.
6. Stay informed and spread awareness. While some stories break across major news networks, others are hidden and harder to find. Let’s be one another’s eyes and ears. We have community members from all over the globe. When you see or hear something that you feel we can help with—whether through donating supplies and money or through synchronized ritual, prayer, or meditation—post it in the Witches SOS section of the Forum.
7. Share this article with friends and fellow witches. Let’s cast a wide web of philanthropic witches joined in the fight for Yemen and Yemeni people, the earth, and humanity.
Vetted Organizations
1. Save the Children. This is a secular organization, meaning it does not proselytize faith, as some other humanitarian organizations do. You can choose to make a one-time donation, a recurring donation, or you can choose to sponsor a child. They offer sponsorships for refugee children as well. While they do not offer sponsorships directly with Yemen, they do work in Egypt, which accepts refugees from Yemen, Sudan, and Syria. You can write to your sponsored child and they will write back. Your sponsorship not only helps the child you’re sponsoring, but it also helps all other refugees in your child’s community.
2. International Rescue Committee. This is a secular organization focused on the worst humanitarian crises in the world. Each year, IRC puts out a report of the most vulnerable countries in need of aid. As stated on their website, “Our teams provide clean water, shelter, health care, education, and empowerment support to refugees and displaced people.” You have various options of donations ranging from one-time gift donations, such as Year of School for Two Girls or Refugee Survival Kit to giving by cause (health, education, emergency relief, etc.) to providing ongoing monthly support. This is an excellent organization to partner with.
3. UNICEF (USA). UNICEF is an acronym for “United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.” Established originally in 1946 to help children after WWII, it has gone on to become one of the most easily recognized charities, operating in 190 countries. While an international organization, the scores below reflect UNICEF USA, as that is what I found on the resources I use to vet organizations. You can set up a recurring monthly donation to UNICEF, which they use to fund initiatives revolving entirely around the welfare of children across the globe.
4. Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) was started in 1971 by French doctors but now has 24 associations around the world. They provide independent, neutral, and impartial medical aid no matter where it’s needed. In Yemen, they have provided care to over 119,000 people with injuries related to war and violence between March 2015 and December 2018. Because the area is so intensely unstable, they were forced to withdraw from several areas. You can read about the timeline of the war as well as MSF’s response and aid here.
5. CARE. Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE recognizes that Yemen has the greatest level of humanitarian needs in the world, and they are fighting for the Yemeni people by providing aid through water, sanitation and hygiene services, and reproductive health services. More information about CARE’s work in Yemen can be found on this factsheet provided by CARE. You can help by donating to CARE, by volunteering for the organization, or by joining the movement to write #LettersOfHope. For those of you witches who are also educators, CARE also invites you to become a #LettersOfHope Classroom. You can learn more and download the curriculum here.
6. Islamic Relief USA. One of the leading humanitarian organizations in the region, Islamic Relief USA works with other notable charities to provide life-saving aid to Yemeni people in almost all provinces. They are also working in some of the most dangerous areas such as Ta’iz, Saa’da, and Aden. IRUSA invites you to get involved by Creative Giving, where you can donate through the Amazon Smile program, through Vehicle Donation, using Giving Assistant while you shop, and several other apps and websites to generate donations. They also encourage you to Start a Campaign by starting a fundraiser. Learn more about ways you can work with this organization by visiting their website.
Charity Navigator Score: 91.16 (out of 100) CharityWatch Score: N/A
7. Oxfam. Oxfam is a global organization fighting poverty. They do this by helping people build better lives for themselves, holding the powerful accountable, and saving lives during disasters. In regard to Yemen, Oxfam has had a presence there for over 30 years and are working to deliver essential aid to Yemeni people across the frontlines since July 2015. The issues they are fighting for in Yemen are strong civil society, women’s rights, and averting future crises. You can fundraise for Oxfam and take part in an Oxfam Trailwalker. They also invite you to campaign with them and volunteer with them.
Sources:
Charlie Nichols is the founder of WHE and a staff contributor. Charlie studied Journalism & Mass Communication, Marketing, and Psychology at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin. She has practiced witchcraft for over two decades and is a certified spiritual empowerment coach, a certified ethical psychic, and a certified crystal healer. Charlie lives on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, USA with her partner, daughter, and animal companions.
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