Since we started operations in 2017, we have gone through an array of projects to meet the changing needs of the populations we support. This includes filling the gap of hygiene in Serbia by providing clothing exchanges, a wash program, and creating of thousands of hygiene kits, facilitating camp activities in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and running camp kitchens in the Balkans providing over half a million meals to those seeking safety in Europe. As migration patterns change, and populations vary we will continue to search, act, and respond to the needs at hand, changing our projects where need be.
Vital Material Aid
-Belgrade, Serbia
In 2017 we established a warehouse in Belgrade in order to provide essential aid to the thousands of vulnerable people seeking safety in Serbia. Since then, our warehouse has become one of the last central aid warehouses in the country.
This space is stocked with essential aid including tents, blankets, sleeping bags, trousers, jumpers, shoes, and winter wear. Since opening our warehouse, we have worked alongside grassroots organizations currently on the ground to distribute thousands of items of life-saving aid.
Food Distribution in Ušivak Camp
-Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
In July 2018, due to a recent shift of the Balkan Route into Bosnia and Herzegovina, we sent a team to Sarajevo, where we worked with Aid Brigade to provide twice-daily hot meals to people sleeping rough. In early 2020, Aid Brigade began providing food from their community center as we focused our efforts on the newly opened Ušivak camp.
In November 2018, Ušivak camp opened near Sarajevo. We sent our team of kitchen experts to design, set up and staff a camp kitchen. From November 2018 until April 2019, with the support of Pomozi.ba, an incredible local organization, we distributed three meals per day for 700 to 800 residents, totaling over 260,000 meals by the time we trained and handed over to a paid local staff.
None of this would be possible without the financial support given through our volunteers, other groups working on the ground, and our passionate donors.
Food Distribution in Obrenovac Transit Centre
-Belgrade, Serbia
From April 2017 to October 2018, in partnership with Oxfam Italia, we worked within Obrenovac Transit Center to provide lunch for up to 900 residents every day. Here we focused on developing a menu that met all nutritional needs, while also serving recipes that were informed by the many cultures represented within the camp. After serving over 300,000 meals, we trained and handed over to a team of paid locals who continue to cook many of the menu items that we developed.
Clothing Distribution for Camp Residents
-Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
From May to December 2019, we planned and facilitated a ‘Free Store’ in Ušivak Camp, near Sarajevo. With the support of Pomozi.ba and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), we provided the residents of Ušivak Camp with material aid. The Free Store was run on a point system which gave the people we support the opportunity to choose clothing and accessories that they truly needed and liked.
Through the duration of our time in Ušivak Camp we distributed over 10,000 items of essential articles of clothing including coats, jumpers, trousers and shoes. After eight months of running the Free Store we trained a team and handed operations over to IOM, shifting our focus to distributing much needed material aid elsewhere through Bosnia and Herzegovina. If you want to help us provide needed aid through the Balkans, reach out to us or donate here.
Shower and Laundry Services
-Belgrade, Serbia
Collectively organized by various Non-Government Organizations, this location is where new arrivals in Serbia went for camp registration, legal advice, and access to social workers. Here we provided showers, laundry services, and a clothing exchange for people arriving to Belgrade after days or potentially weeks on the road. Alongside basic hygiene showers, our team also worked closely with Médecins Sans Frontières to provide medical showers for those suffering from skin diseases.
After working hours, Miksalište became a night shelter for the most vulnerable people who had not been allocated a space in one of Serbia’s camps. At this time showers would be reopened for these individuals; usually unaccompanied minors. Access to washing facilities is vital for both health and comfort; a hot shower and clean set of clothes can completely change someone's day.
Hygiene Pack Distribution
-Serbia
Due to a lack of access to proper support, personal hygiene is a constant challenge for many refugees. From September 2017 to November 2018, we distributed over 8500 hygiene packs to several camps across the country to provide a means of cleanliness and reduce the risk of skin diseases. These packs consisted of toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, tissues, towels, and razors or sanitary pads. At the time, camps in Serbia were lacking with the support and distribution of general hygiene items. During hygiene distributions in camps, we always took the time to organise various activities and engage with the communities living there. Our aim of distributing these packs was not only to cater to basic needs, but also to offer kindness, dignity, and a light-hearted social interaction to those who need it most.
Women’s Sewing Space
-Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina offer little to no outlets and recreational activities for their residents. Starting in October 2019, we opened a sewing project within Ušivak Camp, near Sarajevo. This space provided female residents with sewing equipment and a safe and welcoming environment to partake in sewing workshops, mend defective clothing, or find new uses for unsuitable donations.
On top of daily sessions, weekly workshops were held by residents and volunteers to teach new methods and techniques including knitting and general use and maintenance of sewing machines. Here women and children were always welcome to join and have the opportunity to openly communicate and express themselves.
Cinema Nights in Camp
-Belgrade, Serbia
-Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Building on our goal of promoting mental and emotional wellbeing, we held weekly cinema nights at the Obrenovac Transit Centre from 2017 to 2019. Between 200 and 300 residents usually attended seeing it as a chance to get some distraction from everyday life at camp. In order to provide an authentic cinema experience a team of eight volunteers spent their afternoon preparing popcorn, cooking chai and making fresh lemonade to serve during the screening.
In November 2019 we had the opportunity to add cinema nights to the camp activities we were facilitating in Ušivak Camp, near Sarajevo. For two months we held weekly screenings where roughly 100 residents came together for a film, popcorn, and fresh chai. Cinema nights were our way of providing at least a short, light-hearted escape from the bleak living conditions that exist within camps.
Azadi Community Center
-Belgrade, Serbia
While the situation in the Balkans is no longer in the news, there are still large numbers of refugees and migrants stuck in Serbia with little hope of being able to move forward. The negative effects on mental health and overall welfare are inevitable. Restlessness, frustration and depression are common symptoms among those who feel stuck in Serbia.
In order to empower, create hope, and support wellbeing, we opened Azadi Community Center near Obrenovac Transit Centre. Azadi - meaning ‘freedom’ in Farsi and Urdu - aims to provide a safe space outside of camp where we offer recreational activities, skills-based learning, language lessons and culture-sharing workshops. With a supportive atmosphere and the experience of a sense of progress we hope to foster a feeling of community and purpose.
Like all of our projects, the center is entirely volunteer-run! If you have experience working as a teacher or supporting vulnerable populations we would love to hear from you! Find out about how to get on board here.
Sports Programs
-Belgrade, Serbia
Providing sports programs within Obrenovac Transit Centre gives us the opportunity to promote physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Between 50 and 100 residents join us in the field to participate in a variety of activities including cricket, basketball, football, and board games. In order to manage, coach, and participate in activities, four days a week a team of five volunteers brings sports equipment and refreshments to entertain.
We also host ‘sports olympics’ and cricket tournaments where we establish teams, keep score, and set up events where residents, volunteers, and camp management come out to watch and participate. Even those not playing cheer on their friends and have the opportunity to interact with others.
Sports in Obrenovac is a seasonal project that runs during the warm months of the year.