€1 million donation from The IKEA Foundation

October 2, 2017

International humanitarian non-profit organization, The HOME Project (www.homeproject.org), has received a €1 million donation from the IKEA Foundation to support its valuable work in housing and employing refugees stranded in Greece through the current crisis. In particular, the HOME Project is working to bring lone refugee children to safety and has already opened five dedicated shelters, putting in place a structure of care and support where none existed before. The HOME Project provides on-the-ground intervention for refugees enduring harsh conditions in camps and at processing points throughout Greece, meeting real human need with specialist support, funding and private-sector partnerships.

The new IKEA Foundation donation will enable The HOME Project to double the scope of its work with the opening of five more shelters, increasing its provision to care for more than 200 children in secure environments that give support, protection, education and social integration services to dozens of displaced children. This latest commitment will bring the total jobs created by The HOME Project to over 120, including employment for many of the refugees.

More than 8,419 of the refugees in Greece are unaccompanied minors, alone or in real danger, having been separated from their parents and at risk of violence, sexual abuse, exploitation and organ trafficking.

“All children have the right to a safe place to call home,” said Per Heggenes, CEO of the IKEA Foundation. “The IKEA Foundation is supporting the HOME Project because we believe the private sector should work alongside governments and the UN to secure this right for vulnerable migrant children, helping them survive, recover and build a future for themselves.”

Sofia Kouvelaki, Director of the HOME Project, commented: “The scale of this disaster is epic and children are the true victims of it. We are immensely grateful to the IKEA Foundation for recognising the HOME Project’s mission which is critical, and for this generous donation which will make a deep and lasting impact on so many lives. This vital work saves lives and needs support – we hope it will serve as an inspiration to the international community.”

The HOME Project is actively seeking donations and support to help combat this refugee crisis which is the largest humanitarian disaster since the Second World War. More than 1 million refugees have arrived in Greece since the start of 2015 and are in desperate need of aid and shelter, the majority coming from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Targeted intervention in camps covers a number of basic needs from milk for babies through to medical, educational, legal and language support.

All donations to the HOME Project’s work goes directly to refugees helping them to be safe, fed, clothed, sheltered, and integrated into society. The HOME Project continues to seek and enlist all forms of donation, assistance and giving-in-kind to benefit the cause and have a direct impact on the lives of refugees.

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www.homeproject.org/en/get-involved