Home & Away ...

Home & Away ...

I work with people on the move, it be expats, repats, migrants or refugees. What they all have in common at one point or another is that they find themselves in the process of creating a new place they can call home.
I love working with this group of people and I can relate very well to them because I have also lived outside my country of birth for a considerable amount of time. Such transitions require that we find new skills to adapt to them.
​
For the last 4 months I've worked in 3 Flemish centers for asylum seekers, a project incubated by !DROPS and funded by the American Embassy. We have identified 4 major needs the refugees want to address: reframing the stories of refugees, the need for intercultural skills,coaching to find work, jobs, training and help with finding accommodation. So I am so happy that !DROPS is now trying to give a boost to the campaign of Caritas International to try to find a new place where recognized refugees can make a new home for themselves.

---

Marie Read: Goldfinch nest

​What is a home to you?
A place to recover from the stressful pace of life?
A “safe harbor”?
Finding a new home is not easy if you are a refugee.
With this project we would like to reach out and help where we can.
Finding a safe home is a basic human need
and part of the foundation that allows us to relax and open up
to the world around us.
Feeling safe isn’t just a sense of physical well-being;
​it’s a sense of emotional and psychological well-being, as well.

---

What can I do to help?

If we think of home as a place of safety, security, comfort and belonging, the loss of these factors will reflect on our sense of security and shake up the concept of home.
Creating a new home is an important aspect for people all around the world and maybe even more for those people who are living in a different country then their country of birth. Asking yourself what is really important to you and then have the wisdom and the courage to build your life around your answer is key to creating a meaningful life. Putting your focus and energy on feeling at home will help to adjust to a new reality.
​
With this crowdsourcing campaign you can be part of helping refugees finding a new home.
Do you have a house and would you like to help people on the move to settle down for a while by providing a new home? Check out housing4refugees.be. In 30 days we want to find 30 new homes for recognized refugees ...
What else can I do to help?
Share this blogpost 
Let other people know about this project
Thanks for caring & sharing, 
Sarah

---