Our impact

Hundreds of people visit the Glocal Roots Free Shop every month. It is the only NGO on the island of Kos for a growing number of refugees; many of whom are Palestinian. This grant is to stock the food and hygiene distribution shelves as well as covering the costs of tea, coffee and snacks provided in the community hub throughout the day.

Around 500 people are in Lithuania waiting for an asylum decision or deportation. These people cannot work so our partner Sienos Grupe support some of the most vulnerable with monthly food vouchers. This grant is for one month. That’s 50 people each having €20 voucher to spend.

Refugee Community Kitchen currently operate a 5 days a week food service in Calais. This grant will be used to facilitate volunteers and coordinators opening the kitchen on the weekend as well. In time RCK would like to open seven days per week. The extra capacity will provide hot meals to more than 1000 people.

Over the freezing winter months in Dunkirk, our partner Roots provided phone charging tables for at least six hours a day and heated the tent so that people could stay warm. This grant was for new charging equipment, generator fuel and also some hygiene items.

Asylum claims supported by Refugee Legal Support often rely on a person disclosing their most traumatic experiences. Privacy, along with allowing clients to communicate in their own language, are central to a trauma-informed approach. This grant covers three months of office and interpreter costs during which an estimated 182 people will receive legal help.

Working largely with undocumented people who do not have access to secure housing, Wave - Thessaloniki provide a place for people to wash themselves with dignity and security. This grant is funding water bills for six months of hot showers for people sleeping outside.

Saffron Kitchen Project provides internationally recognised culinary training for refugees whilst providing hundreds of meals each week to vulnerable people. We provided them with a grant for a new deep fryer, so that they can continue to make flavourful, nutritious and culturally-appropriate meals - like their famous Qabuli and fried chicken.

In France, the state refuses to provide water for people staying in informal living sites across Calais. The nearest public water source is up to 6 kilometres away. Our partner, Calais Food Collective, provides over 1.5 million litres of water a year. When their water van broke down, we stepped in with a grant to help them replace it.

In Northern Greece, close to Thessaloniki, our partner Northern Lights Aid runs a community centre close to a refugee camp housing more than 1,000 people. They are the only NGO providing aid and essential services to the population. Our grant will be spent on vital core costs such as rent and utilities to keep the centre running.

After seven years providing services inside the refugee camp, access was taken away by the authorities in pursuit of closed camps. Lighthouse Relief re-thought their services and this grant is helping to fund a Sports4Integration project for young adults bringing residents to sports participation outside the camp.

This grant supports the completion of the shower project at the Selfm.aid Skills Centre on Samos island. With a shortage of clean water at the official refugee camp, people are suffering hygiene issues and skin diseases. This initiative aims to improve well-being by helping residents recover from nasty conditions like scabies.

Our new partners, Seinos Grupe in Lithuania, sought our help to hire a lawyer to get a case reopened of a missing person who was then found deceased. We awarded this grant to help get justice and answers for the grieving family, and to set a precedent for future human rights cases. We have heard it was successful and the case is being investigated.

We granted support for No Border Medics in Dunkirk, France, to acquire a van (mobile clinic). The van will enhance patient privacy, particularly for sensitive medical issues, and provide a necessary stretcher for specific examinations. This grant aims to improve medical services and care for those in need, ensuring better healthcare provisions.

To address the needs of at least 100-150 people arriving daily in Rijeka, Croatia, we awarded this grant to No Name Kitchen. Collaborating with a local women's group, they will provide vital support such as food, warm clothing, and first aid to those in need, aiming to meet their immediate needs during this challenging time.

Baby M's challenging c-section birth left him with a chronic health condition, but his mother's recent move to a CRIBS flat ensured a supportive home for him. This grant to CRIBS International will provide shelter and support for seven families, including Baby M's, over the next six months, offering a nurturing environment during this critical period.

As the situation for people living in mainland refugee camps worsens, and numbers living in each remaining camp rises, our partner CHEERing applied for this emergency grant to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, milk, nuts, raisins, dates and vitamins to provide extra support to 200 families a week for three months.

Our partner, I Have Rights, sought help to cover their office running costs for three months. In addition to supporting their existing active caseload of over 300 people, they predict meeting with 200 new beneficiaries in one-to-one legal information sessions.

After a major donor withdrew support, Yoga Sports with Refugees faced a funding gap for their sports project. To safeguard the mental and physical well-being of hundreds of individuals through football, we provided a grant to sustain their project until they secure ongoing funds.

“For my class, for woman dance, it is very clear there are more participants when I have the van than when I don’t. I would really appreciate if we could fix the van for all the activities.”. We couldn’t say no to this grant to Yoga Sport with Refugees when their van benefits more than 60 people a week.

The muddy wasteland known as the Dunkirk Camp is home to 300-600 people at any time. We provided a grant to local NGO Roots to establish a Hygiene Product Free Shop. The grant was used to purchase storage shelving for their warehouse and hygiene items to stock the shop. Over 2000 individuals will benefit from this initiative.

This grant paid transportation costs for 42,000 bars of soap; enough to meet the soap needs for Northern Greece for a year! An estimated 10,000 people are projected to benefit. Shipment was arranged by Distribute Aid, and the recipient was Intereuropean Human Aid Association.

We granted support to CRIBS International due to their increasing costs resulting from reduced government assistance to vulnerable people. With fewer grants available, and economic challenges affecting crowd-funding, our grant aids shelter for mums and babies, and supports the "free shop" for three months supporting benefitting around 1240 women and their young families.

"If you can provide flour for the people it would be great, and dates is so special to us during Ramadan that it would make us most happy." We were pleased to support Refugee Biriyani and Bananas with this grant towards their Ramadan food and hygiene distribution aimed to benefit 250 individuals.

Jamsheed and Asas, residents of a refugee camp, have been leading a popular weekly weight-lifting and body-building class. They have creatively improvised "equipment" using metal, old furniture, and concrete. We have awarded this grant to RefuGym to purchase proper equipment and ensure the safety and well-being of class participants.

“Honestly, Habibi Center was a bright light in the middle of my dark room. Huge thanks to the Habibi Center teachers who are helping the children and all they want in return is to see the student’s improvement.” We awarded Habibi Center £2,000 toward annual running costs benefitting 55+ students.

People who can only access the State provided food in Thiva, Malakasa and Oinofyta Refugee Camps were shockingly reporting cases of malnutrition. We awarded this grant to foodKIND so they could at least provide nutrient-rich food to pregnant women and nursing mums in these camps.

This firewood arrived just in time for the men living a bitter winter squatting in the abandoned factories near the Port of Patras. Requested by One Human Race, it was No Name Kitchen who took delivery enabling c50 people to cook and warm themselves, just as snow blasted the region.

The State consistently fails to provide what people need to survive, and thrive, in Greece. We awarded this grant to FORGE for humanity who day after day help single men access housing, mental health, asylum process and other support for which interpreters are essential.

For vulnerable people, legal offices represent safe spaces where they can confidentially meet with lawyers, protection officers, psychologists. We awarded this grant to Fenix Humanitarian Aid to cover their office rent in Lesvos and Athens, and also client transport, for three months.

For six years, Habibi Works has been able to rely on crowdfunding, grants, and dedicated donors. However, the changing economy and fewer available grants has meant covering overhead and material costs became increasingly challenging. We are pleased to support Habibi Works, ensuring the doors remain open and activities can continue for hundreds of people.

“We thought people having to sleep in flimsy pop up tents during winter in Greek refugee camps was behind us - we were wrong! ” This grant supported Refugee Biriyani & Bananas’ food and hygiene distribution to the 900 people living in this camp, specifically funding 170 of the aid packs.

When you’re highly vulnerable and really feel you have no one on your side, ASsIST are there to help. This grant covered three months’ running costs of the Athens office and community interpreters’ allowances. Between 200-450 clients will benefit from legal consultations.

A win-win project! People who’ve become refugees gain skills and employment by completing essential repairs and maintenance to apartments - the homes of displaced families and vulnerable people. This grant is helping ConnectionHub’s first 10 fixes in their BetterHomes4Refugees Project.

When the last car, bought in 2018, reached the end of its days, we were happy to support Collective Aid buy the replacement. Now, the volunteers, and the Belgrade Wash Centre kit, including hygiene items and towels, remain mobile helping 1500 people monthly.

The workshop space is a community hub, open to all refugees in Kavala, providing free access to tools and materials. In need of some urgent repairs, we awarded this grant to Northern Lights Aid so they could complete the work and continue bringing joy to this community.

The brilliant Hip Hop 4 Hope are using this controller and headset to offer Rhyme Sessions where 5-15 refugee youths have the chance to learn DJ-ing! Whilst their Community Events around Athens provide a platform for 40-200 people per event

It’s cold, muddy and exceptionally hostile at the makeshift refugee Camp in Dunkirk. This grant is for Mobile Refugee Support, to stock up on tents for their winter distributions providing the only shelter from the freezing winter weather for people here.

Responding to growing demand and destitution of refugees in Athens, a free food market has opened. We awarded this grant to foodKIND freemarket to buy initial supplies for the shop benefitting 100 people per month (each visiting 2-4 times per month).

People are living in precarious structures, such as abandoned buildings, without electricity or heating. This grant is for Wave - Thessaloniki to provide sleeping bags and shoes for up to 86 refugees sleeping rough this winter.

The aim is to eliminate threadworms through treatment and clean underwear amongst the population at three refugee camps in Greece where men, women and children are suffering itching, stomach aches and weight changes. This grant to CHEERing will help around 600 people.

As snow starts to fall, it’s time for SOS Chai to distribute Cold Kits through the winter - a back pack with thermal gloves, hat, socks and thick joggers. Ideally also a coat and pair of shoes. This grant is benefitting 70-80 people over three months.

Currently home to 13 men from Syria, Yemen and Iraq (and Layla the adored cat), this three bedroom flat in Athens has provided a home to over 250 people since 2017. This grant to One Human Race supports rent and rocketing utility costs for the coming two months.

Running the community space including tea station, core costs like bank fees, and ad hoc costs like phone credit, court fees or medical prescriptions. This grant to FORGE for humanity means they can keep providing their valuable services for two months.

Many of the children at this camp have been on the move for a long time. They long for the chance to learn and having the camp cats and dogs around means so much to them. So Refugee Biriyani & Bananas received this grant to buy education supplies and pet food.

Whether drafting legal or protection documents, researching, communicating with other actors, storing information and files, translating documents - legal work depends on laptops. This grant to Fenix Humanitarian Legal Aid is to improve security and confidentiality.

Responding to increasing populations and destitution and hardship in Athens, our partners Refugee Biriyani & Bananas have opened a new free shop. Helping hundreds of people have enough to eat month by month. This grant helped to stock the shop for the first time.

On any given day there will be 100-150 people in need of a meal here. This grant was for student-run Sciences Po Refugees Menton to help provide lunch and a hot meal to those who need it. 1200 people are expected to benefit from this grant.

Through this initiative, children under 18 who are making their journey alone, are assigned a mentor. This is to help them navigate safe, stable paths to adulthood. We awarded this grant to Terra Firma International supporting their mentor activities for two months.

For someone who has worn the same pair of socks day in, day out, for weeks. A new pair given with a warm friendly smile makes a big difference. This grant to Collective Aid is funding socks, t-shirts and hygiene items including razors wet wipes, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste.

Since her car broke down completely in May, Brittany at RefuGym was taking the train and borrowing a small car from a friend. We awarded this grant to RefuGym towards a new vehicle. One client says “I’m not just alive, I’m living. For some hours (with RefuGym) I’m a normal person.”

Safe accommodation means people not only survive but recover and get the support needed to continue. Here at Center for Community Services PUZ the Safe House has already seen 1000 stays. This emergency grant is for running costs for August covering a gap in regular funding.

Not all needs are “sexy”. This grant to Eudaimonia Medical Services is for costs outside of normal provision - insurance excess for rental vehicle damage, food for interpreters following draconian changes to camp rules, and ISO re-certification for renewing Greek registration.

For many people, being able to work out is as much a mental health lifeline as it is a physical health one. For the 90 people using the Yoga Sport with Refugees equipment every day, our grant to replace their old, well-used and often broken benches and bars, means everything.

Every year we run a small, dedicated Mothers’ Day fundraiser to remember and celebrate mums no longer with us. This year we voted to award the money raised to Action for Women in Athens who focus support on refugee women and children, especially mothers.

The inspiring Star School is found within an ISO Box on site at the Mavrovouni Refugee Camp (“Moria 2”). It’s founded and run by camp residents providing on-site language and other classes to 70 men, women and child students. This grant supports essential supplies for two months.

Eudaimonia Medical Services needed emergency funding after a regular donor let them down. This grant paid around €375 expenses per person for the refugees interpreters depended on ato translate critical information and services in the Lesvos RIC (Mavrovouni Camp).

Our partner, ASsIST (Asylum Seeker Information Services Team) have been in Chios for more than five years. This year they decided to expand to Athens. This grant supported that expansion funding technology and other costs along with legal fees for three Athens clients.

For some people living in Thiva Refugee Camp, these packs of staple foods like rice, pasta, tomato paste, milk, flour and sugar, will be almost their only food source. This grant enables foodKIND to provide 250 lifeline food packs a month for two months.

Clothes are a huge need for those arriving in shoes with holes and jeans that are all ripped. This grant means SOS Chai can continue to support 80+ new arrivals have the fresh clothes and hygiene items they need during the summer months.

Our partners No Name Kitchen strive to return choice and agency to people on the move systematically deprived of their freedom of choice during their journeys. This grant will fund 1,200 shopping baskets (£6/12 BAM). Funded thanks to the wonderful Dr. Martens Foundation.

We were delighted to support this World Refugee Day (20 June) Project with partners Center for Community Services PUZ. Here they promoted refugee rights, raised awareness of the struggles and portrayed the life of a refugee in BiH through their eyes.

After the NGO who founded and ran the food market pulled out in June, Be Aware and Share took over. However there were no funds for food supplies and it was too drastic to cut off supply to beneficiaries. This urgent grant will buy staple foods for 10 weeks for c100 adults and 100 children p/w.

New NGO Vents Contraire urgently needed a vehicle. This grant enabled them to purchase a van, and cover essential cost like insurance and registration, so they can provide twice-weekly distributions of non-food aid and water drops benefitting 130 people a month.

Ouistreham and Cherbourg are lesser known refugee hot-spots in northern France where over 100 people live in camps and squats. Vents Contraire is a new partner in the region. This first grant is for men’s underwear to help maintain people’s hygiene and dignity.

We agree that financial means should not be a barrier to accessing human rights to asylum. This grant will be used by Fenix Legal Aid to support client costs including transport, legal fees for filing asylum claims and evidence-based medical appointments, and more.

In the northern regions of Bosnia and Serbia people on the move live in makeshift camps and squats. Their access to water is severely limited and staying clean and well a challenge. This grant is for No Name Kitchen to provide wet wipes, soap and other hygiene items through summer.

REFUGYM partners with AntetokounBros Professional Basketball Training Academy, enrolling children living in Malakasa Camp. Every evening teenage girls practice their basketball skills. This grant is supporting them with two standing basketball hoops, and more sports equipment.

In Bihac, shoes are the item our partners No Name Kitchen are asked for the most. For people on the move walking long distances is a significant reality not least as their access to public transport is hugely restricted. This grant will buy estimated 460 pairs of shoes.

In Northern France inadequate and failing asylum and migration policies push refugees into destitution. Our partner Collective Aid supports people in Calais with the items they need to survive this hostility. This grant is for tarpaulins and men’s joggers.

In March 2022 our partners No Name Kitchen opened a new base in Subotica, Northern Serbia. People on the move here reside in remote locations and significant distances have to be travelled. This grant funded an essential vehicle enabling the team to reach these communities.

The young football players at Malakasa Camp travel 2 hours by train 2-3 times per week, to reach the practice field. Their local sponsors, CHEERing, sought support ensuring the players can also compete weekly in the children’s sports league of Eleonas Football Club.

This grant to Wave - Thessaloniki is our final COVID grant. Very soon, all restrictions will be lifted in Greece and they will return to serving food indoors without the need for takeaway containers. This grant alone will enable upwards of 4,000 meals to be served.

Many refugees experience waterborne trauma from the dangerous journey made reaching Europe. REFUGYM help overcome that distress with trauma-informed lessons in the water. This grant expanded their offering by funding seats and paddles to convert SUP’s (pictured) to Kayaks!

New arrivals at the nearby official Blazuj single men’s refugee camp receive only a pack of tissues and a toothbrush upon arrival. Collective Aid will use this grant to buy 3000 each of soaps, razors, pair of socks, boxers, t-shirts, toothbrush and toothpaste providing essential hygiene.

This basic three bedroom flat in Athens is a successful housing project that has provided safety and shelter for 13-15 young refugee men since 2019. When our partner, One Human Race, received an unexpected utility water bill we were happy to support with this grant.

Following the successful pilot of “football fit” for the young people of Malakasa, CHEERing sought funds to continue the programme which includes cooking/learning about food, distribution of menstrual pads and education about girls’ cycles. We were happy to make this contriibution.

Dunkirk is a cold place. For the homeless refugee population living without any services, fires are essential for survival. This grant for a wood yard van for Mobile Refugee Support was joint funded by our friends at Herts for Refugees and 2HelpingHands.

Being uninformed of your rights can lead to wrongful decisions - in this case rejected asylum claims. This grant supports the Asylum Seeker Information Services Team in providing interview preparation, answering legal questions, and more, supporting 1200 people over four months.

There are no distribution centres in Calais due to State hostility and oppression making this impossible. Therefore, all distributions take place on the streets out of the back of a van. This grant contributed towards a larger replacement van for Collective Aid after their van broke down.

There are unaccompanied minors in Athens who are homeless or living in squats. They receive legal help but no other support. This grant is for Terra Firma International to expand their culturally-informed psychosocial support to a further eight young people.

“During the period of your grant, three of our clients were transferred and are now with their families in Switzerland, Germany and Italy! Two of these clients were children who arrived alone and were wrongly registered as adults.” Fenix Humanitarian Legal Aid are transforming lives.

In Athens there are people collecting waste cardboard and plastic to sell for pittance to survive. This grant contributes to Refugee Biriyani & Bananas providing dates and vouchers for around 700 people throughout Ramadan.

Ramadan is such a special time of year for Muslims, but can be very challenging as a refugee. We were only too happy to contribute funds to Refugee Biriyani and Bananas towards a food distribution for 750 living in Vial Refugee Camp for the month of Ramadan.

Following a sudden and complete breakdown of their original van, and the recent withdrawal of support by a major funder, the need for a new van in Sarajevo was urgent. We were very happy to help Collective Aid replace their van to continue supporting up to 1500 people per month.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Europe leapt into action. And when Heartship in Northern Ireland sought funds to ship urgent medical supplies, it was a no brainer to offer the balance of the pre-BREXIT Sponsor-a-Box funds.

In the process of other maintenance work on the Mo Chara rescue boat, additional urgent maintenance was identified. We supported Refugee Rescue with a grant so that Mo would be ready for her next Mission in the Central Mediterranean in mid-March.

Without a Greek attorney many family reunification claims across Europe fail. We supported Fenix Humanitarian Aid in paying one of their Greek Lawyers with responsibility for the Family Reunification Team. They are currently dealing with 20 open cases and have a 84% success rate.

In Thessaloniki one team are on hand with a hot meal and a friendly smile; as one client shared “being treated humanely is a source of strength.” We awarded this grant to Wave - Thessaloniki for takeaway food containers to serve upwards of 3700 meals over three months.

The heart of any grassroots team, who are distributing humanitarian aid of any type, is their warehouse. We provided funding to Roots in Dunkirk towards their first ever warehouse; despite supporting refugees in northern France for over four years.

An unexpected withdrawal of funding by a major backer left Eudaimonia Medical Services with an immediate funding gap for costs necessary for their work, but really challenging to get funding for. This grant is paying for hire cars (patient transport), petrol, bus fares, snacks and more.

On Lesvos there is a long waiting list for the Yoga Sport with Refugees sporting activities. With another NGO selling some second-hand equipment, YSWR were quick to snap it up with our support. We know well that gym activities and workouts are a lifeline to those living in Mavrovouni Refugee Camp.

“My baby will be very happy. For four years we have not been able to buy cola” - Syrian father. For this food distribution Refugee Biriyani and Bananas sought to provide the specially requested items we take for granted, like coke and ketchup, along with staples of cooking oil, salt and sugar.

“Football Fit” is an innovative two month programme for young women at the Malakasa Refugee Camp. These funds will support CHEERing Greece in providing for 50 girls important, hard-to-find supplies like football-worthy shoes and sports hijabs, as well as menstrual products.

Constantly changing laws and processes in Greece make life harder and harder for refugees resulting in homelessness reaching breaking point in Athens. We provided a grant to housing project Finding Refuge preventing 15 vulnerable people from homelessness this winter.

For young refugees in Athens settled enough to go to school, the Habibi Center becomes their second home. We were able to fund three months’ running costs, benefitting around 100 students, along with internationally recognised exam entry for those able to sit them.

In Lesvos the medical interpreters spend the majority of their work time outside. We supported Eudaimonia Medical Services in providing warm winter clothes and sturdy boots for their interpreter team of 20; many of whom live in the refugee camp themselves.

People are sleeping rough in freezing weather in Belgrade and throughout northern Serbia. We’ve provided funding to Collective Aid to provide 3000 pairs of socks, 3000 boxer shorts and 1500 hygiene packs in Belgrade, and blankets, coats and trousers as-needed across the north.

Heating bills in Greece have increased 189% over the last year. We provided a grant to One Human Race to cover the anticipated winter heating bills over the coming three months at the three bedroom flat housing a minimum 14 young male refugees in Athens.

In the Port of Patras approximately three hours’ drive from Athens, around 200 young Afghan men are living in derelict, abandoned factories. We provided a grant to One Human Race to have firewood delivered for heating and cooking purposes. It arrived right before the snow.