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.
Support of smaller NGOs with consumables
We have set up a fund on Lesvos in cooperation with a Greek NGO (Lesvos Solidarity), where small NGOs can use the original receipts to claim money for consumables (for example food and hygiene products), so that they can focus on the work on the ground and expand their capacities there.
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.
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.
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.
Foundation Saving an Angel
Since its establishment in 2001, the Saving an Angel Foundation has been distributing funds to help children in need. The donation supports the project UNHIDE - Emergency Aid, which organizes extensive deliveries of relief supplies from Germany to Ukraine on the one hand, and the care of Ukrainian children and young people in the UNHIDE HOME in Germany on the other. The children receive meals, creative workshops, lessons and care by trauma therapists.
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.
Libereco
The activists behind the organization Libereco have been involved in Ukraine since the beginning of the war in 2014 and since February have been particularly committed to helping families, the elderly and people with disabilities. Since there is a lack of medical care and nursing facilities in large parts of the country, the organization has set itself the goal of renovating old people's and nursing homes and setting up assisted living together with local partner organizations. At the same time, Libereco is working on evacuations. In September, Libereco volunteers evacuated a family from one of the frontline regions in Ukraine. A few days later, the family's home was completely destroyed by a missile. It is often hours that make the difference between life and death.
Nicht reden. Machen!
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the "Nicht reden. Machen! e.V." has been actively involved in providing the people in the war zone with the most urgently needed relief supplies. Supplies such as food and clothing are provided, but also targeted medical needs such as asthma spray, antibiotics, bandages and surgical material.
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.
Legal Centre Lesvos
In 2021, the practice of so-called "pushbacks", in which protection seekers are picked up either at sea or on land and forcibly repatriated, which is contrary to international law, reached a completely new quality. Refugees who had already reached the soil of Lesbos are picked up by masked men, often abused, kidnapped and abandoned on maneuverless "life rafts" on the open sea. Refugees, who are subjected to this violence rarely have access to lawyers or options to receive information about their rights. The Legal Center Lesvos fights against this and receives people directly after their arrival to provide them with legal support. This year alone, over 500 people were registered and brought into the regular asylum process. This protects refugees from further legal violations. In addition, the organization was one of the few to manage to bring two cases of human rights violations to the European Court of Justice.
Exhibition Remember Moria
Our LNOB warehouse on Lesvos was transformed into an event center for the #RememberMoria exhibition. The exhibition was meant to commemorate the night when Camp Moria burned down completely and more than 14,000 people lost their last belongings and were forced onto the streets where they had to hold out for more than 14 days without sanitation or medical care. We wanted to remember a place that was called "the shame of Europe".
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.
Arrival Aid
Arrival Aid is currently building capacity to support people upon arrival from Ukraine to quickly access jobs, education, and society.
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.
Boat Theater Group
People sometimes live for years in refugee camps without any perspective and under the most precarious circumstances. In order to confront the lack of hope and perspective, a group of refugees on Lesvos founded the "Boat Theater Group". 14 people come together regularly in this group to develop creatively and rehearse. In August 2021, the group performed their play for 10 days at the LeaveNoOneBehind Warehouse next to the camp, creating a place of encounter and art alongside the horror of the camp. In the meantime, the project has moved to Athens.
Human Aid Now
Human Aid Now provides medical care on the Greek island of Samos. Due to overcrowded camps and lack of services, medical care on the island is inadequate. With a group of 15 to 30 volunteers and translators, Human Aid Now provides basic medical care to over a hundred people daily and refers medical cases to the hospital. Due to the closure rules during the Corona pandemic, additional medical office space was needed. In addition, international volunteers could no longer come to the island, so Human Aid Now had asked a group of volunteers to remain in Greece during the lockdown to maintain operations. Therefore, the Safe Passage Foundation supported Human Aid Now in 2020 with 3427,50€ to cover the costs of medical office space, accommodation and food for the volunteers.
Visions for Children
The situation in Afghanistan has been disastrous since the Taliban seized power. One of the groups suffering the most are girls: about half of the Afghan schoolgirls have been denied school attendance for more than a year. Visions for Children has found a way to support Afghan schoolgirls despite this. A new school construction project will reach about 1,000 students in a region of the country where girls of all grades can still go to school. In order to provide them with high-quality education, the construction of new classrooms is urgently needed, as they are currently taught in the hallway or in tents.
Community Volunteers
We have been working with the people from the camp for over a year and include them in our daily work at the LNOB Warehouse and Community Center. In this way, we give the refugees a space to develop and to escape the daily life of the camp for a while. Additionally, we offer educational programs, such as English classes three times a week.
One Happy Family
One Happy Family is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide a safe space for asylum seekers, volunteers and people from different nations to meet. For this purpose, the Community Center was built on the Greek island of Lesbos. Due to its geographical proximity to Turkey, Lesvos is often a stopover for most people fleeing war and crises. Here, asylum seekers are often stuck for several months due to bureaucratic hurdles. To fill the gap caused by insufficient humanitarian aid and lack of government support, One Happy Family, together with its partner organizations and at the initiative and request of the asylum seekers, offers many different projects, such as schools, sports programs or psychological support. The range of projects varies according to capacity and need. Through the Community Center, One Happy Family aims to involve the people living in the camps in brainstorming and decision-making in order to strengthen their autonomy, self-drive and sense of responsibility.
Ukraine Aid Berlin
A group of Ukrainians and supporters of Ukraine in Berlin thought about how they could support Ukraine in 2014, years before the escalation to a large-scale war of aggression, and has been active in solidarity ever since. Ukraine Aid Berlin provides medical and humanitarian aid to people in need, war victims and their families. Through good local contacts with medical and nursing institutions, they can check donations in kind and forward them to trusted clinics and field hospitals.
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.
Earth Medicine Physical Rehabilitation
Fleeing is traumatic, both psychologically and physically. To support refugees, survivors of torture and war in their healing process, a group of activists and therapists founded EMPR. The organization offers physiotherapy, acupuncture, and rehabilitation programs to people in the camp on Lesvos. One example is a program to improve chronic injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder through the use of acupuncture, physiotherapy, therapeutic massage and herbal remedies. Through their work, EMPR has also created jobs for refugees who work, for example, as interpreters. The activists regularly go to the camp to care for people with physical disabilities.
Just Action – Samos
On the Greek island of Samos, refugees are completely isolated from the villages and towns of the island: high security fences, surveillance cameras and security forces turn the place into a prison. Since April 2020, Just Action activists' free food supermarket on the Greek island of Samos has been supporting the local, as well as the refugee community with food packages and hygiene items. In addition to the food parcels and hygiene items, Just Action Samos volunteers cover the cost of the bus tickets that the refugees need to get from the camp to the food distribution. The goal is to ensure food security for all those in need on the island, while building more resilient structures to ensure future access to food for all people on Samos.
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.
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.
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.