Ikea set up a model of a 'typical Syrian home' in its flagship store
A recent initiative by the Red Cross in Norway aimed to help Rana and other struggling families in Syria. Rana's family currently receives food and other donations from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization that's a part of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The Red Cross partnered with Ikea to build a replica of Rana's home at the flagship store in Stockholm, so that shoppers could explore it and empathize with her story. People could donate in-store or online.
The installation, which was up in October and visited by 40,000 weekly visitors, was part of a larger campaign to support the Red Cross' efforts in Syria. The organization told CNN that the campaign raised $23.8 million.
The project in Ikea, conceived by the advertising agency POL, was called "25 meters of Syria," the size of the home's replica. That translates to 269 square feet, or just a little bigger than the average one-car garage.
Instead of beds, there were foam mats and just a few blankets. Ikea's iconic tags told stories about Rana and her family for shoppers to read.
According to Ikea, the goal was to raise money for war victims and show the horrors of war in Syria, amongst the other picture-perfect home set-ups in the store.
