Team DWARS Rotterdam Rijnmond raises €1,667.82 in Night of Refugees

On the night of 18 to 19 June, five of us walked as team “DWARS Rotterdam-Rijnmond” from Rotterdam to The Hague (40 km). We did this to raise money for the Refugee Foundation. The money raised pays for emergency aid and shelter in the region. Some of the money also goes towards education and information in the Netherlands. We probably do not need to explain to you why it is so important to raise money for this cause, but we will briefly summarise it below.

In 2015, 19.5 million people fled their country, including nearly 3.9 million Syrians. Dizzying numbers. Although solutions are being worked on internationally, money remains an issue. For instance, only 35% of the money needed to help Syrian refugees has been raised in the past year, according to UNHCR, a key UN refugee agency. Not to mention all the other people fleeing violence, war and other disasters.

At DWARS Rotterdam-Rijnmond, we talked a lot about refugees, about reception and facilities. So it wasn't just talk, but we really helped a bit. Besides, we wanted to experience a little bit what it is like to walk for hours in the dark with many kilometres to go. The fact remains, of course, that after that long night we were able to “go home comfortably”. The people for whom we raise money do not know where they will spend the following days and whether they can sleep there safely... Thanks to all the sponsorship, we raised €1,667.82!