Farhaj Sarwar Announces The #LoveCoats Project – The Outcome & Lessons To Follow

The #LoveCoats project kicked off on World Refugee Day and it was an event to behold. It was to empower refugee girls of the Zaatari camp through fashion and design. Farhaj Sarwar from NRS International and Helen Storey from the London College of Fashion were there spearheading the entire #LoveCoats initiative.

Launching the ‘#LoveCoats’ project was not only satisfying but rewarding for the leaders involved because it has a noble cause which is to empower the TIGER Girls of Za’atari Refugee Camp. It is located in Jordan and the entire group of women and girls couldn’t be happier after receiving the much-awaited help.

Thermal Refugee Blankets That Transformed Not Just Their Lives But Also Into High Fashion

This was a major part of the UAE Year Of Giving, and NRS International participated in it with all its heart and soul. Sarwar donated over 1,000 meters of thermal blanketing material to Professor Helen Storey. The material crafted keeping in mind the UN Refugee Agency specifications was well received by everyone at the camp. Not just this, but Sarwar has been actively involved in philanthropy work all across the world. NRS International has already sold close to 4 million of these blankets to some of the leading aid and charitable institutions and agencies worldwide.

Redefining Fashion With The Language Of Compassion

The entire #LoveCoats concept was a result of long conversations and discussions with the TIGER girls. The initiative came to life in Dubai where the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and Exhibition was being held in the month of March. This is where the initiative got international recognition and was well received by several guests, ministers, chief guests, and other philanthropists from all across the globe.

Farhaj in his own words, “The response was massive. We are so grateful that our little effort was so well received by the refugee camp. We understand the entire crisis that these girls are going through and we aim to make a difference. When professor Storey decided to associate with us on this cause, we were absolutely ecstatic. We also understood just how difficult it was for refugee girls to manage their life in the cold winter nights of this region. We all decided to do something about it and here we are.”

NRS International enjoys a strong reputation in the relief essential items industry. This project is meant to empower 1,250 adolescent girls. The aim is to give them the necessary education, training, and apprenticeship in the fashion and design sector. These technical skills prove to be highly useful in making and stitching clothes.

The TIGER girls of the Za’atari camp are rightly addressed as such. They have so much courage and resilience and they want to make a respectable living out of this acquired talent.

According to recent studies and research done by the International Labour Organisation, around 40 million people all across the globe are victims of modern-day slavery resulting from the refugee camp culture.

Statistics also tell us that more than 25 million of these people are forced labor and close to 15 million have to bear the burden of forced marriage.

Studies also tell us that over 150 million children aged between 5 and 17 currently work as child labor. This is close to half the population of the US alone. Human trafficking is also a very big industry that is blooming at a rapid speed. The current valuation is $150 billion.

NRS International under the leadership of Farhaj Sarwar is committed to making a difference and running several rescue initiatives for this huge population all across the world.

Sarwar said, “We have learned a valuable lesson from here. When we decided to launch the #LoveCoats project on World Refugee Day to help out these women, we did not know that it would be so satisfying and inspiring at the same time. These women are filled with aspirations, confidence, and the spirit to do something revolutionary. We are even more motivated to do something for this cause now. We have found out that several women are affected by this refugee camp culture highly disproportionately. More than 79% of the human trafficking population is females which are close to 29 million.”

Around 99% of these victims are women and they are working as either forced labor or some kind of slave in the sex industry all over the globe. There are also several instances of violence against women in these camps. The biggest reason that human trafficking is quickly linked to the refugee crisis is the fact that these people are displaced and have absolutely no way of living a decent life or even any means to earn an income. NRS International wants to emulate the success and result achieved with the #LoveCoats project in many regions across the globe where the refugee crisis is at large. The effort is to take care of this highly vulnerable segment of society and prevent them from any exploitation and persecution.

Farhaj Sarwar And His Future Endeavors To Eradicate The Refugee Culture

1. School Education

The first focus of NRS International would be increasing the literacy rate among the women of these camps that are located across various regions in Africa and the Middle East as well. The focus remains on the English language and one or two regional languages to make their lives easier.

2. Daycare For Every Child

Most of the children in these camps are a victim of sexual abuse and violence. Daycare facilities for these children are also an essential service.

3. Rebuilding Family

A massive investment in safehouses is also required. NRS International aims to make sure that mothers have access to hygienic baby care items and also nutritious baby formula. This helps in eliminating diseases and infections and also reduces the infant mortality rate.

4. Legal Advice And Support

Women in these camps need all the support they can get including financial, legal, and emotional counseling. They have safety concerns as well which need to be addressed right away.

5. Doing Away With Dependency

The vicious cycle of dependency needs to be done away with. Empowering women in these camps is the only way to do that. When they have the right means of making a respectable living, they can win any battle.
Farhaj Sarwar, with his brainchild NRS International, is collecting funds and contributions from world-leading agencies across seven continents. They are doing advertisements on different platforms such as Imginn. Let’s see what his efforts can achieve for these women in need.