Our Mission

Collective Aid is run by a flexible core team of long-term coordinators and managers, supported by a dynamic and ever-changing group of short-term and mid-term volunteers from all around the globe.

Guided by high standards of safeguarding and professionalism, all of us are committed to bringing support and dignity to refugees and other displaced people across Europe through sustainable services and our advocacy. 

Our lasting mission is to observe and act, to always be ready to fill the gaps left by other aid actors, and to collaborate with anyone who shares our aim of making life better for people living on the move across Europe, always in solidarity and respect.

Founded in 2017 as “BelgrAid,” Collective Aid was established to address the evolving needs of refugees and migrants in Serbia. Initially responding to the humanitarian crisis in Belgrade by distributing meals and essential supplies, we quickly grew to become a trusted source of support for those in transit. Today, we have expanded our efforts across Europe, working in Bosnia & Herzegovina, France, and Greece.

‭Serbia Programme‬‭

‭In‬‭ March‬‭ 2017‬‭ ,‬‭ the‬‭ BelgrAID‬‭ warehouse‬‭ kitchen‬‭ was‬‭ started‬‭ in‬‭ Belgrade,‬‭ the‬‭ capital‬‭ city‬‭ of‬‭ Serbia,‬‭ by‬ volunteers‬‭ from‬‭ Greece.‬‭ BelgrAID‬‭ made‬‭ food‬‭ and‬‭ did‬‭ ad‬‭ hoc‬‭ distros‬‭ in‬‭ Belgrade‬‭ Barracks.‬‭ By‬‭ November‬ 2017‬‭ Obrenovac‬‭ was‬‭ started‬‭ after‬‭ the‬‭ Belgrade‬‭ Barracks‬‭ were‬‭ becoming‬‭ an‬‭ unfeasible‬‭ place‬‭ for‬‭ people‬ on‬‭ the‬‭ move‬‭ to‬‭ gather.‬‭ Obrenovac,‬‭ which‬‭ was‬‭ named‬‭ the‬‭ ‘Azadi‬‭ centre’,‬‭ provided‬‭ lunches‬‭ and‬‭ activities,‬ cinema nights etc. as well as some ad hoc aid distros.‬

In‬‭ November‬‭ 2020‬‭ ,‬‭ the‬‭ Belgrade‬‭ Water,‬‭ Sanitation‬‭ and‬‭ Hygiene‬‭ centre‬‭ (WASH)‬‭ was‬‭ opened‬‭ and‬‭ this became‬‭ the‬‭ focus‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ project.‬‭ The‬‭ Azadi‬‭ centre‬‭ was‬‭ closed‬‭ and‬‭ the‬‭ Belgrade‬‭ project‬‭ became‬‭ oriented‬ towards providing WASH and outreach in the city.‬‬‭

‬Between‬‭ July‬‭ and‬‭ August‬‭ 2017‬‭ the‬‭ Serbia‬‭ programme‬‭ expanded‬‭ and‬‭ opened‬‭ the‬‭ project‬‭ in‬‭ Subotica,‬‭ a‬ city‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ North‬‭ that‬‭ borders‬‭ Hungary.‬‭ The‬‭ NGO‬‭ called‬‭ Fresh‬‭ Response‬‭ had‬‭ been‬‭ running‬‭ the‬‭ project‬ and handed over to BelgrAID.

In‬‭ part‬‭ of‬‭ 2018,‬‭ the‬‭ shower‬‭ service‬‭ at‬‭ Subotica‬‭ had‬‭ to‬‭ stop,‬‭ but‬‭ this‬‭ was‬‭ restarted‬‭ in‬‭ 2019‬‭ .‬‭ In‬‭ the‬‭ period‬ between‬‭ 2020‬‭ to‬‭ mid-2021‬‭ ,‬‭ a‬‭ big‬‭ priority‬‭ for‬‭ the‬‭ project‬‭ was‬‭ developing‬‭ the‬‭ WASH‬‭ provision.‬‭ In‬‭ 2021‬ the‬‭ project‬‭ also‬‭ received‬‭ shower‬‭ trucks‬‭ from‬‭ Medecins‬‭ Sans‬‭ Frontieres‬‭ and‬‭ began‬‭ distributing‬‭ food.‬ Distributions thereafter have provided Non Food Items (NFI), WASH and food.‬ Between‬‭ 2022‬‭ and‬‭ 2023‬‭ the‬‭ Subotica‬‭ project‬‭ saw‬‭ the‬‭ highest‬‭ concentration‬‭ of‬‭ people‬‭ on‬‭ the‬‭ move‬ every month that Collective Aid has ever seen, making the project extremely large.‬

This‬‭ came‬‭ to‬‭ an‬‭ end‬‭ following‬‭ developments‬‭ in‬‭ Serbia‬‭ at‬‭ the‬‭ end‬‭ of‬‭ 2023‬‭ ,‬‭ where‬‭ policing‬‭ operations‬‭ and‬ closures‬‭ of‬‭ informal‬‭ settlements‬‭ reshaped‬‭ the‬‭ migration‬‭ routes‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ country.‬‭ We‬‭ made‬‭ the‬‭ decision‬‭ to‬ down-scale‬‭ our‬‭ project‬‭ in‬‭ Serbia by focussing operations in Subotica‬‭ and‬‭ using‬‭ our‬‭ remaining resources‬‭ to‬‭ additionally‬‭ address‬‭ the‬‭ needs‬‭ of‬‭ people‬‭ on‬ the‬‭ move‬‭ in‬‭ Bulgaria.‬‭ This‬‭ allows‬‭ us‬‭ to‬‭ provide‬‭ NFI‬‭ and‬‭ WASH‬‭ services‬‭ directly‬‭ or‬‭ supply‬‭ partner‬ organisations‬‭ on‬‭ a‬‭ flexible‬‭ basis‬‭ following‬‭ changing‬‭ needs‬‭ throughout‬‭ Serbia.‬‭ The‬‭ project‬‭ increasingly focuses‬‭ on‬‭ advocacy‬‭ in‬‭ Serbia‬‭ and‬‭ has‬‭ begun‬‭ visiting‬‭ Bulgaria‬‭ to‬‭ gather‬‭ information,‬‭ conduct‬‭ needs‬ assessments for advocacy and with the aim of establishing a permanent field project in the country.‬‭

Bosnia & Herzegovina Programme

In August 2018 , the organisation began to examine the possibility of a Bosnia & Herzegovina programme and started a project in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia & Herzegovina. The organisation began to send volunteers there in September 2018 . The Sarajevo project initially started as a street kitchen. By November 2018 the project had also started a camp kitchen called Usivak kitchen. Until mid 2019 BelgrAID ran in both the street kitchen and the camp kitchen in Sarajevo alongside Aid Brigade and BAB. BASIS did NFI distributions and provided showers. CADUS provided medical aid.

In mid-2019 the Sarajevo project decided to stop running the Usivak kitchen. The project was handed over to local Bosnians who still use our recipes. Anecdotally, the guys in camp say food is still good but the contractors don't smile at them any more! Since then, the Sarajevo project primarily runs mobile NFI distributions.

In summer 2020 , the Sarajevo project began the glasses project in tandem with an optician in the city. This project only runs for a couple months at time, but whenever funding allows this is also a service that the Sarajevo project provides.

France Programme

In May of 2019 Choose Love asked Collective Aid to take over their warehouse and operations in Calais, a city in the far North of France that is the closest point of France to the UK. When Collective Aid took over, the project was providing NFI to the main camps in the Calais, Dunkirk and Grande Synthe areas from the Auberge des Migrants warehouse with the other Auberge des Migrants organisations. In November 2019, the project moved to the ‘New Warehouse’, where they worked with Project Play and Refugee Women’s Centre relatively closely. 

In April 2020 the project took on some of the responsibilities that other organisations had stopped providing due to COVID19 related complications, this was when the project provided phone charging and water at distributions.

In June 2021 the project along with the majority of other projects in the Calais area lost a donor that had been providing the vast majority of the funding and was also evicted from volunteer housing. Later that summer the project was also asked to move out of the warehouse. The project moved back to the Auberge des Migrants warehouse in November 2021. The project implemented a tent distribution system (known as tent drops)  based on referrals from partner organisations. This system, with some modifications, continues to this day.

In March 2023 the project opened a WASH Centre in the centre of the city. The project was the first widely available WASH provision ever provided in the Calais area. The expansion represented a huge development for the Calais programme overall.

In March 2024 the clothes distribution project ended due to a lack of funding and we refocused our remaining funds to continue the WASH and tent distributions as these gaps are not covered by other organisations. In the same month the Calais Town Hall ordered the WASH centre to close. We are currently fighting this decision in court but have implemented a mobile laundry service in the meantime.

Greece Programme

In Spring 2024 Collective Aid was invited to take over a NFI free shop project from another organisation on Lesvos. Given the worsening situation on the island and our experience providing adaptive NFI services, we decided to redirect a portion of our Serbia budget to this new project. We are currently in the process of opening the project.

International Programme

From the beginning of 2022 the Executive Director began to develop a team of international managers that would come to be called the International Programme. This team initially consisted of the Fundraising and Grants Manager and the Strategy & Impact Manager, who existed to facilitate and support the development of the country programmes and also to coordinate the strategy of the organisation overall.   In April 2023, the programme hired an Advocacy and Communications Manager and in October 2023, the Calais Human Resources Coordinator took over the volunteer recruitment and welfare responsibilities for the Balkan projects, eventually becoming a member of the international programme as the Human Resources manager. In March 2024, the programme incorporated their newest position and welcomed the Donations Coordinator, who works on material donations and warehouse management for all projects. 

Our Values in Action

Since we were founded, we have been an organisation dedicated to facing challenges together as a team, prioritising ethical responsibility, precision and impartiality in all that we do. Our teams therefore work to embody the values of:

• Impartiality, Integrity, and Precision: We strive to deliver aid without bias, basing our efforts on compassion and respect for each individual’s distinct circumstances. Our services adapt to the specific needs of those we serve, filling gaps and responding to changing circumstances with flexibility.

• Sensitivity, Inclusivity and Dignity: Our work is rooted in understanding and respecting the diverse backgrounds of those we support and work with. Across all levels of the organisation, we expect our teams to advance dignity and respect with regards to the people we meet in the course of our work.

• Professional and Ethical Standards: Our teams are trained to uphold clear standards of safeguarding and professionalism, essential to the ethical operation of any humanitarian organisation. Trust, respect, transparency, and integrity underpin the relationships between all of our programs, projects, and partners.

It is difficult to tell what the future of migration in Europe looks like. We are navigating an ever-changing political landscape and an unforeseeable number of people in need in the coming months and years. Collective Aid will continue to provide aid and support to displaced people across Europe for as long as we are needed.