UN to use ‘Facebook’ to raise funds for refugees

A virtual UNHCR tent is of worth USD 10,while a ‘Gimme Shelter’ token costs USD 5.

“If 20 friends buy a virtual tent,they will raise enough funds for a refugee family to live in a real tent,” said Claudia Gonzalez-Gisiger,UNHCR’s Senior External Relations Officer. “That’s the power of online social networking.”

The agency’s ‘Gimme Shelter’ campaign is based on a short film of the same name featuring Academy Award winners Ben Affleck and John Toll.

Shot in the DRC’s volatile North Kivu province,the film highlights the suffering and hopes of civilians forced from their homes by conflict.