As July came to an end, we reflect on our activities over the past month.
Here’s a summary of our initiatives:
- People for People welcomes two Olympic athletes as ambassadors
- Kicking off our crisis shelter visits at B. Amsterdam
- Connection and community at our RAE in Arnhem
- Piloting a new dreams exercise at our Katwoude RAE
- Our impact in numbers this month
Looking forward
- Our Olympic RAE is coming to the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam on Aug 29th!
- Going back to Morocco to provide longer-term shelter
People for People welcomes two Olympic athletes as ambassadors
We are thrilled to announce that two exceptional athletes from the IOC Refugee Team, Muna Dahouk (Judo), and Mohammad Rashnonezhad (Judo) have joined us as ambassadors.
Through our partnership with these athletes, we aim to bring hope and inspiration to unaccompanied minors. They will be joining us in a campaign this summer, sharing their stories, their love for Judo, and encouraging the children to pursue their dreams.
Learn more about our ambassadors in these video interviews:
Muna Dahouk
Mohammad Rashnonezhad
Kicking off our crisis shelter visits at B. Amsterdam
In 2023, People for People Foundation undertook crisis response missions to Turkey and Morocco following the devastating earthquakes. A year later, many people are still living in tents and temporary shelters.
This year, we introduced a new crisis response strategy aimed at providing more sustainable shelter and longer-term support to families in need, thanks to our new partnership with Better Shelter.
Het Parool got a tour of our new crisis response shelters from People for People Director Marcella Simons. You can read about it here.
By supporting this project, your organisation could ensure more displaced people are given a place they can call home.
What you can do:
⭐ Donate so we can provide as many shelters as possible to people in need.
⭐ Provide essentials such as flooring, mattresses, school supplies, cooking equipment, and innovative furnishings to transform these shelters into real homes and schools.
Come to B. Amsterdam this August to visit the shelter home and learn more about how these innovative crisis response shelters, developed by BetterShelter in collaboration with the IKEA Foundation and UNHCR, can be built in a matter of hours for the families who need them most.
Fill in the form to get in touch and see how we can make a difference together.
Connection and community at our RAE in Arnhem on July 16th
In Arhnem, we kicked off a Rolling Aid Event for 38 boys who had just arrived at the location. They didn’t know the area well and were so happy to come with us for a day of fun and games in the park.
We played sports, had a tug-of-war competition and organized an art workshop. One boy created a beautiful drawing that said “All I want is a simple and safe life.”
We also gave out some of the cards created for them by students from the Netherlands. One boy was so happy with his card, he said he would hang it in his room. Another was smiling and had tears in his eyes as a volunteer translated this card: “Your presence is a blessing. We are grateful for the light you bring into this world!” It’s beautiful to see just how big an impact a simple message of kindness can bring.
When we were leaving, one boy asked, “Will you come again next week? When you meet good people you want to see them again.”
Piloting a new dreams exercise at our Katwoude RAE on July 23rd
Dreams are what our futures are made of. Whether it’s becoming an astronaut or a deep sea diver, the dreams we have as kids later help to guide us in pursuing hobbies, careers and lifelong passions.
For many unaccompanied minors (aged 13-17), dreams of the future are set aside for the more immediate dream of simply finding safety. Even after reaching the Netherlands, many remain in survival mode, missing their families and facing uncertainty as they move from place to place.
At our Rolling Aid Events, we aim to create a day of fun and connection but also encourage the kids to dream again about what their new lives here in the Netherlands can be like. A great way to facilitate this and break down communication barriers is through art.
In Katwoude, we piloted a new exercise where we encouraged the kids to think about a dreamland and draw pictures answering questions like: What is the weather like? What kind of food do you have? What kind of sports do people play?
“It’s so amazing to see them feeling hesitant at first but then really opening up, showing each other their drawings, discussing what they like about the geography or animals or lifestyle in their dreamland. It really helped to bring people out of their shells and build a strong connection between the kids and volunteers,” said People for People team member Eluna Verink.
Our impact in numbers this month
During July, we continued to strengthen our support for unaccompanied minors at locations across the Netherlands, not only through connection and inspiration but also by providing the essentials they need. This includes hygiene products (toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant, etc.), clothing (t-shirts, pants, underwear, socks, shoes, sports clothes) and school supplies (backpacks, pens, pencils, rulers, notebooks) to support education. We also donated laptops to locations so they can set up stations where the kids can get access to the internet for schoolwork and Dutch lessons.
This month, we supported kids in Utrecht, Arnhem, Katwoude, Velsen and Duivendrecht with the following items:
- Toothpaste (163), toothbrushes (169), shampoo (108), soap (168), and more
- Backpacks (163), water bottles (187), school supplies (515)
- T-shirts (535), pairs of socks (189) and shoes (135), and more
- Laptops (13)
Looking forward
- Our Olympic RAE is coming to the Olympic stadium on Aug 29th!
We can’t wait to hold an extra special edition of our RAE at the Olympic Stadium next month! We’ll have over 100 unaccompanied minors join us from three different shelter locations. Our People for People ambassadors will also be there to coach the kids as they go through their very own Olympic games!
- Going back to Morocco to provide longer-term shelter
With our new crisis response strategy underway, we plan to go on another mission to Morocco in October where we can provide shelters to people who are still without homes since the earthquake last year.
