Supported projects
#LeaveNoOneBehind offers a platform for local and solidarity projects – fast support guaranteed. Thanks to your donations, we have been able to support over 100 partner organizations in their important work since 2020. The projects are often actively run by refugees themselves or the organizations actively support those seeking protection in solidarity.
On this page you can find all the initiatives and organizations that have been supported so far.
All projects
BASE UA
BASE UA was founded by activists and journalists in the wake of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and focuses primarily on evacuation from the most heavily embattled areas of the country. BASE UA is one of the last organizations to bring people threatened by the Russian invasion to safety from Bachmut, Lysychansk or Severodonetsk. But BASE's work does not stop at evacuation: People should receive sustainable support. Among other things, two camps were organized with children and young people who had to flee the war. There they received art and trauma work.
Aegean Boat Report
Illegal pushbacks are a daily occurrence at European borders. In order to take action against them, they need to be well documented and collated. The Aegean Boat Report reports 24/7 about incidents at the borders and thus enables quick help and monitoring of "border officials''. One practice the Aegean Boat Report has been able to highlight many times: Refugees who had already reached the bottom of Lesbos are picked up by masked men, often abused, kidnapped and abandoned in the open sea on maneuverless "life rafts." There they drift until the Turkish coast guard picks them up and brings them back to Turkey. Documenting them and gathering the information is critical. Because good information not only ensures that helpers can be on the scene faster in emergencies, good information is also the best weapon against cover-up attempts by governments and their coast guards. The Aegean Boat Report has thus become an essential building block in the work of NGOs in the Aegean. Through its work, emergencies are noticed more quickly and people are rescued.
Blindspots
Blindspots helps wherever people are forgotten by the media, politics and the public. They bring the "invisible spots" of Europe into the focus of social discourse and strengthen existing aid structures. On the Bosnian-Croatian border, in the Velika Kladuša region, refugees are stuck in patched-up improvised shelters, where they are exposed and unprotected from the wind and weather. This means life-threatening cold in winter, with temperatures as low as -20 degrees. In addition, they are often robbed, beaten up and illegally pushed back by border officials. Blindspots therefore organizes stoves and firewood for the people. They build doors, windows and solar panels on the provisional huts and provide access to drinking water and hygiene facilities. They also document the inhumane and illegal violence at the borders to raise public awareness. Their work is more important now than ever in winter and can save many people from dying of cold.
Wir Packen’s an
Wherever refugees suffer under the European border regime and have to sleep on park benches, under tarpaulins or in the woods, you can find the pink boxes full of relief supplies from "Wir Packen's an". Many people have almost forgotten the pictures from the Polish-Belarusian border last year. Refugees stuck in the forest between two border strips and in the face of thousands of officers of the Polish border police. At the time, “Wir Packen's an” was one of the few organizations that managed to deliver relief supplies to the people on the ground. People are still stuck at the border, and “Wir Packen's an” is still delivering relief goods: Hand warmers, sleeping bags, thermal pants and much more. Not only on the Belarusian border, but also, for example, on the Ukrainian border with Moldova. In a feat of strength, reception stations including six sanitary containers with showers and toilets were provided in this forgotten region within a very short time.
Liebe im Karton
"Liebe im Karton" e.V. or Lovebox is a volunteer Christmas package delivery campaign that has been distributing gifts to vulnerable children in Germany, Europe and the so-called Middle East since 2016. In addition, they organize year-round deliveries of relief supplies to crisis regions, including Ukraine, to support local people and rebuild destroyed structures. Together with their active network partner "Netzwerk Ziviler Krisenstab", they have been managing the coordination and logistics of more than 6,500 pallets of urgently needed relief supplies to Ukraine since February 2022.
Human Rights Legal Project
The Human Rights Legal Project (HRLP) is a legal aid organisation that combats human rights violations against refugees in Greece through legal representation, advocacy and public relations work and takes action against the criminalisation of refugees at the EU's external border.
Nachbarschaft e. V.
"Freiwillig Helfen" (FH) is a Berlin based network for refugees with a focus on integration assistance. Founded by volunteers from a Berlin emergency shelter, it provides non-partisan and non-denominational aid wherever help is urgently needed. In response to the war in Ukraine, FH has reactivated the "Volunteer Planner", which was already used in 2015 to successfully coordinate and organize tens of thousands of helpers across Europe. It is a non-commercial open source tool by volunteers for volunteers to easily and efficiently organize thousands of helpers.
Sea-Eye
Nearly 25,000. That's the grim number of people who have officially drowned in the Mediterranean since 2014. Not through "boat mishaps" or "accidents," but through political calculations that have made the Mediterranean the deadliest escape route in the world. With the end of state-run sea rescue, a void has been left in the Mediterranean that NGOs have been trying to fill for years. Sea-Eye is one of the sea rescue organizations active on the deadliest escape routes. Sea-Eye searches for people in distress at sea and who are struggling against drowning. Sea-Eye's actions are a response to the failed migration policies of the European Union, which refuses to accept its responsibility for the thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean.
School of Peace
The international School of Peace for children and adults on Lesvos offers the people in the camp the opportunity to take English courses and other school subjects. In addition, the School of Peace offers its younger students a special curriculum for adolescents, where they have the opportunity to learn everyday skills and abilities. The goal is to develop the students' self-confidence, academic performance and social skills. They are taught by teachers who are also refugees living in the camp. The school also promotes their experience, creativity and demonstrates self-confidence within the community. This serves as the main goal of the School of Peace: to strengthen people's self-confidence and assertiveness, to inspire them and to help them shape their lives in a positive way. Since the beginning in 2017, over 5000 students have attended courses of the School of Peace.
ReFOCUS Media Labs
ReFOCUS Media Labs aims to create a global network of media labs to enable global reporting. Lack of hope and perspective is an ordeal for people stuck in camps and on the move. At the same time, they are increasingly sealed off: journalists and photographers, for example, are no longer allowed to take pictures from the newly established camp on Lesvos, and the Polish-Belarusian border has been completely sealed off. Through media training, ReFOCUS Media Lab offers people on the move the opportunity to produce their own images - and thus not only circumvent the censorship imposed by the access restrictions for journalists, but also to communicate in a self-determined manner. In response to Russia's large-scale war of aggression on Ukraine, the activists have set up another lab in Kraków and give media training to Ukrainian refugees.
Low-Tech with Refugees
Low-Tech with Refugees was created to help refugees on the Greek island of Lesvos to develop and build creative technical solutions that are useful in everyday life. At the heart of the work is the operation of the Low-Tech Makerspace on the premises of One Happy Family, which houses a bicycle, wood, metal, and electronics workshop. In addition to providing tools and materials, the focus is on sharing knowledge and building skills. Their headquarters are in Briançon, France and they operate other sites there as well as in Marseille to work with refugees.
N-Ost
As a transnational network that exists in times of increasing polarization and the increasing divergence of the media, N-Ost is breaking new ground in foreign journalism. As journalists in Ukraine are in great danger, N-Ost provides equipment necessary for survival, tries to provide psychological care and to support them in the field as well as in exile in their increasingly challenging work.
PxP
PxP focuses on the particular challenges of African students who have fled Ukraine and are confronted with massive unequal treatment both on the run and in the destination country. The aim of the funding is to build a strong network between students, universities, business and politics. Donations finance legal advice as well as support and accommodation, meetings and events and the networking of the trades. Universities are ready to accept international students, the economy has a high shortage of skilled workers in the digital and public sector and the federal government urgently needs to create the legal basis to actively counteract demographic change.
Equal Rights Beyond Borders
Human rights violations against refugees at the Greek borders are becoming more severe every year. Equal Rights Beyond Borders is a Greek-German human rights organization that stands by the side of those seeking protection and supports them legally in their fight against undignified living conditions in the refugee camps, or against unlawful detention and illegal deportations. Among other things, ERBB finances the salary of a lawyer in Athens through our donations.
Contact and Counseling Center for Refugees and Migrants (KuB)
The Contact and Counseling Center for Refugees and Migrants (KuB) is a non-profit association in Berlin. The KuB supports refugees and migrants from all over the world and advises on questions regarding asylum and residence rights. Support is also provided for psychological and social problems. The funding enables the organization of German courses and leisure activities for precarious migrants.
Northern Lights Aid
Northern Lights Aid (NLA) is a small NGO that supports the residents of the Perigiali refugee camp in Kavala, Greece. By distributing food, clothing, hygiene items, and other materials, NLA seeks to provide the basic necessities of life for the people affected. Located within walking distance of the camp, Northern Lights Aid provides a safe environment to learn, create and socialize through English classes, a skill-sharing workshop, a community garden and a free clothing store. NLA works closely with locals and camp residents to promote social inclusion and solidarity within the community. The recently expanded emergency assistance program supports particularly vulnerable families with food, medicine and transportation to ensure the asylum process runs smoothly.
Attika Human Support
Attika operates one of the largest warehouses for in-kind donations on the island of Lesvos, playing an important role in the distribution of aid to Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Kos and mainland Greece. Many refugees usually have few personal belongings when they arrive on the island and are in need of warm, dry clothing and shoes. The Attica team sorts, delivers or arranges pickup for the supporting NGOs, which distribute the in-kind donations as part of their own aid programs. In conjunction with this mass distribution, Attika also packs specifically requested items daily and delivers them directly to camp residents.
ROSA Rolling Safespace
An estimated 1 in 5 women experience sexual violence while fleeing, although the number of unreported cases is believed to be much higher. The people behind Rolling Safespace want to change that and have converted a truck into a Safespace, which they use to travel from camp to camp in Greece to give women a safe place to go. In and around the truck, there is medical counseling, workshop offerings (from self-defense to knitting), discussion groups on body-related topics, and childcare. The women are safe and can escape the camp for a short time. The team works according to an intersectional and postcolonial approach and closely with the women on site. The refugee women find a supervised conversation room, basic medical care, and various sports and exercise activities. Donations ensure the daily maintenance of the Safe Space and funding for the crew.
Yoga and Sport For Refugees
Yoga and Sports For Refugees aims to empower refugees through sports, integrating them into the community and improving their physical and mental health. The sports offered, which range from swimming courses to martial arts and yoga, are largely carried out and instructed by the refugees themselves. When people live in a camp, sometimes for years, this can have a catastrophic effect on their mental and physical health. Sports activities, ranging from swimming courses to martial arts and yoga, can play a decisive role in counteracting it. The sports activities of Yoga and Sports for Refugees additionally break down ethnic and religious barriers and create a meeting point and cooperation between cultures.
Mare Liberum
Mare Liberum documents human rights violations and border violence against people on the move in the Aegean Sea. On the life-threatening escape route between Turkey and Greece, migrants are regularly pushed back by the authorities using violent methods to prevent them from reaching Europe. By publishing testimonies, Mare Liberum makes the voices of affected people visible and fights collectively for the strengthening of basic human rights. By collecting and publishing data on the general situation in the Aegean Sea, the pressure on the relevant authorities to ensure that human rights are respected is increased.
Iran Journal
Reporting on the Iranian revolution and the regime's deadly violence has never been more difficult - or more important. Every day, it becomes more difficult to get reliable information. Iran Journal has been reporting on events in Iran since 2010, especially on human rights, gender issues, political and personal freedoms and plays an important role in the classification of events today. The aim is to give the readership and decision-makers in the German-speaking world a transparent view and insight into civil society developments in Iran, so that they can gain a holistic view for their opinion-forming process and integrate these impressions into their work. Iran Journal is thus the only independent medium in the German-speaking world with regular coverage of events in the Islamic Republic.
Be an Angel
Children in the Russian-occupied regions are often at risk of forced adoption. The association Be an Angel focuses its work in Ukraine on evacuations of more than 16,000 threatened families from the Donbass region and especially on the problem of children at risk.
UNDE Association
Romania is one of the poorest countries in Europe and hosts a large number of Ukrainian refugees. With the donations, the UNDE Association is implementing projects in Romania to build intercultural activities for Ukrainian refugees. Romanian and English language courses, vocational training for women, educational and recreational activities for children, as well as excursions and intercultural activities between Ukrainian and Romanian children are organized.
Helpbus
In order to intervene in cases of short-term humanitarian disasters, such as the winter in Ukraine, the activists of the Helpbus provide fast and unbureaucratic care. The Helpbus provides support in crisis hotspots where mobile assistance is needed. The Helpbus is closely networked with local activists and can be on site within a few days. This means that donations in kind as well as medical care for about 150 people a day can be provided and evacuations can be carried out.
Wave of Hope for the Future
Wave of Hope for the Future is a network of self-organized schools - by refugees for refugees. The initiative was started by refugees in Moria camp on Lesvos and quickly expanded to other camps in Greece. In early 2019, Zekria Farzad began offering classes for children in the "olive grove" around Camp Moria. His only tool: a whiteboard on a bench. The initiative was quickly joined by other refugees. The initiative was quickly joined by other people on the move. Together, they began to build a network of schools that today offer classes in Art, English, Greek, Physical Education and other subjects to more than 4,000 students, and are even helping to rebuild a school in Afghanistan. The Wave of Hope School is an impressive example of refugees organizing themselves in the various camps and contributing to the enrichment of a diverse society.
Mushkila Kabira
Mushkila Kabira is the English transliteration of an Arabic phrase meaning ‘big problem’. This is the phrase its founders heard when they began volunteering in Greece, and it's the perfect way to introduce what sparked the creation of the Mobile Info Team itself. Mobile Info Team is a volunteer organization that provides information to asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in Greece and other European countries about the asylum procedure and other relevant issues. The team also supports individual cases, mainly in family reunifications, but also, for example, in the preparation for the asylum hearing or applications for integration measures. In addition, Mobile Info Team collects testimonials from asylum seekers to support their rights through public relations.
Cadus
CADUS is a non-profit and independent aid organization that initiates innovative and sustainable projects with a focus on medical care. Their primary goal is to help people to help themselves in line with their needs. The funding was used, for example, to implement a mobile modular medical care system for the Greek islands. The medical care situation on the Greek islands has only existed at all for people on the move because small NGOs have been working tirelessly to help against all the repression on the ground. The capacities and possible medical services have always been limited, and the situation has worsened massively due to the pandemic. CADUS built on the experience of the first mobile hospital for northeast Syria to create an even more mobile concept of a modular hospital on Lesvos, which can respond quickly and flexibly to the medical emergency on the ground. Thus, testing and treatment capacities were expanded and isolation tents for infected persons were provided. CADUS is also establishing a MEDEVAC system for the hostilities in Ukraine.
SCORING GIRLS*
Education, exercise and a sense of belonging are essential for the healthy development of young people. Unfortunately, especially girls with a history of flight and immigration and from disadvantaged families often find it difficult to access support programs, not least because of cultural and financial hurdles. This is where the human rights activists of HÁWAR.help step in with their SCORING GIRLS* program. SCORING GIRLS* is an empowerment project for girls between the ages of 9 and 18, which the former Bundesliga player, Tuğba Tekkal, launched in Cologne in 2016. Over 900 girls from 15 different countries are thus supported through sports training, ethics workshops and cultural excursions.
The Hope Project
The Hope Project Greece has been providing assistance to refugees arriving on Lesvos since early 2015. It does so based on the principles of dignity, compassion and safety for all. The robbery of the human dignity of refugees and the way they are treated cannot be accepted in Europe. Volunteers provide about 30 families daily with things they need, such as hygiene products, diapers, clothes, shoes, blankets and much more.
HÁWAR.help
HÁWAR.help operates in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraq is receiving less and less public attention, while conditions continue to worsen. HÁWAR.help has been active in Iraq for years and puts a great emphasis on educational projects for women and girls. The donations support the BACK TO LIFE & BACK TO SCHOOL projects, covering the salaries of up to 30 teachers and improving the learning conditions and quality of teaching for approximately 2,195 students. 12 classrooms are to be built, as well as a laboratory and a library. In Afghanistan, since the takeover of the Taliban, the operation of houses in which women seeking protection can stay overnight, has been prohibited.
The Shower Box
We operate a Community Center on Lesvos, with 40 hot water showers, consisting of four containers with ten showers each. Also, there is a container with toilets. In addition to providing urgently needed shower and washing facilities in general, the project also serves to treat itch mites, which are currently spreading in the camp on Lesvos. It is also an important contribution to protecting the privacy of the people in the camp.
We become active where states fail to act. But only with your support!
With our work we put pressure on German politics to take responsibility and finally change something! Your donations will be used for the #LeaveNoOneBehind campaign: For our own projects, as well as for funded projects and organizations that provide urgently needed support at the EU’s external borders and refugee routes.