Hanan Ashegh
This Ramadan, the Goodwill Caravan distributed 2,000 food packs and hot meals to refugee families in Greece, Libya, and Pakistan.
This project has many benefits, including providing nutritious meals throughout the month, improving well-being, fostering social connections, building resilience, and raising awareness about refugee challenges in Greece.
In addition to the food packs, Goodwill Caravan is raising funds for several humanitarian projects, including renovating schools for Afghan girls stuck in refugee camps in Pakistan, supporting our family reunification and detention release legal programme in Greece, and creating a family-friendly salaat prayer area at our Sallam Centre in Athens, which is paramount as safe places for Muslims to perform congregational prayer or have funeral Qur’an readings or prayers in Greece are almost non-existent.
There is one mosque with a 350-person capacity that opened recently for approximately 300,000 Muslims in Greece.
During Ramadan, families should experience joy, peace, and togetherness. However, for displaced populations, this is often not possible. The earthquakes in Syria and Turkey have left millions of people displaced and forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in other countries like Greece.
Our projects aim to protect vulnerable children, reunite families, and provide refugees with access to information and integration support services, as well as a place to worship.
The Goodwill Caravan team has been delighted to see the many smiling faces of parents and children who have stopped by our distribution centre to collect Ramadan food packs over the past couple of weeks.
Even though these families have endured war, displacement, and loss, they can find a momentary sigh of relief and hope while being reminded that people care about them.
The Goodwill Caravan began its humanitarian journey over eight years ago in the Calais Jungle refugee camp with food pack distribution.
However, we quickly realised that assisting forcibly displaced persons requires much more than food packs. Our projects are centred on offering a comprehensive package of support to the most vulnerable groups, such as lone women, single mothers, and detained and unaccompanied children.
From emergency aid distribution and shelter to medical support and legal aid, our holistic approach is tailored to everyone’s or a family’s unique needs.
Unfortunately, their struggles are far from over as they face overcrowded and poorly equipped refugee camps upon arrival. These camps are unsafe, with vulnerable individuals often targeted by traffickers, abusers, and perpetrators of gender-based violence.
With an increasingly hostile political landscape, a continually changing legal framework, and unreliable official sources of support, refugees find themselves reliant on NGOs for both necessities and support in accessing their human rights.
Hanan Ashegh,
Founder and Executive Director, Goodwill Caravan.
