Sharjah: The Big Heart for Syrian Refugee Children campaign received a massive boost when Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, wife of the late President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, donated $10 million (Dh36.7 million).

The money will help provide refugee children life-changing access to food, medication, shelter and education.

Shaikha Fatima said, “Every single day that we spend at home with our loved ones this Ramadan is a blessing, and we should never forget the millions of Syrians without a roof over their heads or a motherland under their feet. By supporting the Big Heart for Syrian Refugee Children campaign we will show that refugees might be homeless, but never hopeless.”

The campaign was launched on June 20, coinciding with the World Refugee Day, by Shaikha Jawaher Bint Mohammad Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, in her capacity as the Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and the Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), to help Syrian refugee children who have been torn from their homeland.

Shaikha Jawaher said, “On behalf of the countless Syrians whose lives will be saved and transformed, we are extremely grateful beyond words for the massive contribution of $10 million from HH Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak.”

She added that such acts of generosity “shine rays of sunlight into the darkness of the Syrian crisis, and give refugees hope for a brighter day.”

The contributions come as the Syria Regional Response Plan faces a $1.9 billion gap in the funding required to help over 1.76 million refugees. The number of Syrian refugees who have been registered or are pending registration with the UNHCR is now approximately 600,000 in Lebanon, 500,000 in Jordan, 400,000 in Turkey, 160,000 in Iraq and 100,000 in North Africa.

Panos Moumtzis, UNHCR Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Syria Situation, said that “this is the fastest growing refugee crisis in human history, with the first six months of 2013 alone seeing over a million new refugees.”

He said that women and children are the hardest hit, and initiatives such as the Big Heart campaign spearheaded by UNHCR Eminent Advocate Shaikha Jawaher will “turn food, water, shelter and medical attention from a distant dream into a daily reality.”

The Ramadan spirit of generosity has also inspired the public to make substantial Zakat donations towards Syrians.