Actions against COVID-19

During the first lockdown (March – May 2020), we found out that many people from refugee and migrant communities were immediately confronted with the dire consequences of the pandemic, not having access to very basic goods such as food. The outbreak of this crisis triggered the reflexes of our association, in an immediate manner, that in turn launched an effort to raise funds to support the people.

This effort was implemented through a funding campaign (https://www.giveandfund.com/giveandfund/project/COVID-19-Greek-Forum-of-Refugees-Association) that attracted the interest of many different parties. The Greek Forum of Refugees mobilized civil society, refugee and migrant communities and all individuals who were willing to help, coordinating a wide network of volunteers, with the aim of rapidly and systematically distributing supermarket vouchers, medicines and food to people that needed the support. Famous organizations such as the European Program for Integration and Migration (EPIM), the Open Society Foundation (OSF), as well as friends of the organization joined this effort.

The culmination of this effort came on December 10, 2020, World Human Rights Day, where the European Civic Forum, a pan-European network of 104 organizations from 24 different countries, awarded the Greek Forum of Refugees and, specifically, Mr. Moussa Sangare, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of the Ivorian community in Greece, for our action during the pandemic period in the context of the relentless defense of human rights.