A simple item that refugees need and how to get it to them

When two American dermatologists volunteered to provide medical assistance in a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan in 2014, they didn't anticipate one basic, recurring need.

What the refugees really needed from them didn't even have to be administered by a professional doctor. What they needed could be found in almost any household medicine cabinet and costs a few dollars at most convenience stores.

To ease their dry, cracked, blistered skin, the refugees needed petroleum jelly.

Samer Jaber and Grace Bandow, both doctors, returned from the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, where tens of thousands of displaced Syrians have settled after escaping violence in their war-torn country, and wrote a joint essay about their experience. In the article, published by The Washington Post in June 2014, they revealed that countless refugees they treated needed relief from severe skin problems that could be remedied by simply applying Vaseline.

One mother in her late 20s waited four hours with her three young children to see the doctors, Jaber recalled. Her hands were so dry that they were cracked and bloody. It was incredibly painful for her to use them, but that was unavoidable when there were babies' diapers to clean and her family's meals to cook.

He gave her a steroid ointment and Vaseline to heal her skin.

"Prior to going on my first mission, I didn't expect that skin health would have such an impact on the daily lives of the refugees," Jaber said. "When you think of someone living as a refugee, you think they need food, water, and shelter. You see explosions and war on the news and you think they need surgeons and trauma care. That is certainly all true, but the harshness of the environment and the difficult living conditions exacerbate minor skin conditions, oftentimes affecting the refugees' abilities to work, go to school or take care of their families."

When the doctors' account was published, Vaseline, the original petroleum jelly brand, was researching whether there were global outreach opportunities using its 143-year-old signature product. The doctors' article validated that skin care was an under-treated public health issue that could be remedied with simple solutions. Vaseline quickly enlisted their help.

So recently, with Jaber and Bandow signed on as advisers, Vaseline publicly launched an initiative with Direct Relief, an international medical aid organization, to get petroleum jellies and lotions to people displaced by natural disasters or humanitarian crises. Their goal is to heal the skin of 5 million people by 2020.

Vaseline already donated 1 million jars of its product worldwide through Direct Relief in 2015 and sponsored dermatologic missions to Kenya, the Philippines and Jordan last year. This year, the company plans to return to Jordan, as well as India, Nepal and South Africa.

"When I attended my first mission to Jordan, last year, I was surprised to learn how much their suffering extends to their skin as well," Bandow said. "We expected conditions related to crowding and malnutrition and poverty and war. And sadly, we saw many patients like this. But what really impressed us was to see the overwhelming need for basic skin care in these camps due to the relentless exposure to very harsh, hot, dry, dusty elements."

As part of its Vaseline Healing Project, the company is also putting together virtual relief kits to supplement its jelly and lotion donations. Anyone can contribute to pay for preselected items to fill the kits with other modest medical supplies such as thermometers, emergency blankets, soap and gauze.

To donate to the Vaseline Healing Project or to create a virtual healing kit, visit www.vaseline.us/thehealingproject.

The company also has implemented a yearlong, one-for-one promotion. For every jar of Vaseline jelly or lotion sold, the company will donate two cents, up to a $1 million, to the project.