The branch of United Nations responsible for protecting and supporting refugees – UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) on Tuesday joined a charity program triggered by the popular social networking site Facebook. The UNHCR is using the Facebook to raise funds for the uprooted, displaced people in Afghanistan, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan.

Growing increasingly in popularity, Facebook, which has achieved the milepost of 200 million active users, has recently introduced new “charity” feature to commemorate its achievement. The new “charity” feature of Facebook allows its users to make donations to 16 non-profit organizations, including UNHCR.

The Facebook users can offer “charity gifts” for the ‘Gimme Shelter’ campaign of UNHCR and other organizations. The users can buy a virtual UNHCR tent for US$10, or a “Gimme Shelter” gift token for US$5. Claudia Gonzalez-Gisiger, UNHCR’s Senior External Relations Officer. The Senior External Relations Officer of UNHCR Claudia Gonzalez-Gisiger elaborated that the money accumulated through purchases of people will be used to help provide shelter to the refugees. Gisiger said, “For example, if
20 friends buy a virtual tent, they will raise enough funds for a refugee family to live in a real tent – giving them dignity and security…That’s the power of online social networking.”

She told that the ‘Gimme Shelter’ campaign of UNHCR, featuring the classic Rolling Stones song, “Gimme Shelter,” is based on a short film of the same name, directed by Academy Award winner American actor Ben Affleck and filmed by another Academy Award winner John Toll. Picturized in the DRC’s volatile North Kivu province, the film depicts the suffering and hopes of Congolese civilians uprooted by the conflict.

Facebook spokeswoman Kathleen Loughlin stated is significant platform for raising funds for rufugees. She said, “Facebook now has more than 200 million active users.

While an important milestone for the company, we believe 200 million people, as an interconnected whole, have a greater opportunity to initiate and affect positive change.”

The number of users of Facebook has swell to 200 million, and the social networking site has achieved its milestone just 3 months after achieving the 150 million user milestone in January. Hitwise recorded a 149% increase in the number of US visitors to Facebook in February this year, against February last year. According to web study, about two-thirds of the Facebook’s active users come from outside the United States.