ATHENS, Greece, October 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

- Five shelters open already, more than 100 children housed, and over 60 jobs created

-IKEA donation promises five more shelters, increasing capacity to 200 children and over 120 jobs

- 8,419 unaccompanied minors were officially registered in Greece since the beginning of 2016

International humanitarian non-profit organization, The HOME Project (http://www.homeproject.org), has received a €1 million donation from the IKEA Foundation to support its valuable work in housing and employing refugees stranded in Greece through the current crisis. In particular, the HOME Project is working to bring lone refugee children to safety and has already opened five dedicated shelters, putting in place a structure of care and support where none existed before. The HOME Project provides on-the-ground intervention for refugees enduring harsh conditions in camps and at processing points throughout Greece, meeting real human need with specialist support, funding and private-sector partnerships.

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/565779/The_HOME_Project_IKEA_Foundation.jpg )

The new IKEA Foundation donation will enable The HOME Project to double the scope of its work with the opening of five more shelters, increasing its provision to care for more than 200 children in secure environments that give support, protection, education and social integration services to dozens of displaced children. This latest commitment will bring the total jobs created by The HOME Project to over 120, including employment for many of the refugees.

More than 8,419 of the refugees in Greece are unaccompanied minors, alone or in real danger, having been separated from their parents and at risk of violence, sexual abuse, exploitation and organ trafficking.

"All children have the right to a safe place to call home," said Per Heggenes, CEO of the IKEA Foundation. "The IKEA Foundation is supporting the HOME Project because we believe the private sector should work alongside governments and the UN to secure this right for vulnerable migrant children, helping them survive, recover and build a future for themselves."

Sofia Kouvelaki, Director of the HOME Project, commented: "The scale of this disaster is epic and children are the true victims of it. We are immensely grateful to the IKEA Foundation for recognising the HOME Project's mission which is critical, and for this generous donation which will make a deep and lasting impact on so many lives. This vital work saves lives and needs support - we hope it will serve as an inspiration to the international community."

The HOME Project is actively seeking donations and support to help combat this refugee crisis which is the largest humanitarian disaster since the Second World War. More than 1 million refugees have arrived in Greece since the start of 2015 and are in desperate need of aid and shelter, the majority coming from three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Targeted intervention in camps covers a number of basic needs from milk for babies through to medical, educational, legal and language support.

All donations to the HOME Project's work goes directly to refugees helping them to be safe, fed, clothed, sheltered, and integrated into society. The HOME Project continues to seek and enlist all forms of donation, assistance and giving-in-kind to benefit the cause and have a direct impact on the lives of refugees.

CONNECT: 

Facebook: The HOME Project | Twitter: @HomeProjectOrg | Instagram: HomeProjectOrg

GET INVOLVED: 

http://www.homeproject.org/en/get-involved/.

Notes to Editors 

The HOME Project 

Standing for 'Help, Overcome, Motivate and Empower', the HOME Project's mission is threefold. First, to bring unaccompanied minors to safety in dedicated shelters where they will be clothed, fed and supported. Second, to source, refurbish and convert unused buildings throughout Greece into shelters, bringing them back to life and into good use. Third, through the conversion, refurbishment and ongoing operation of these shelters it is creating employment, including for refugees - 60 new jobs were created in the first twelve weeks alone. The HOME Project now has another five shelters underway to house 200 children in total and creating over 120 jobs.

The founding sponsor of the HOME Project is the Libra Group, a privately owned international business.

http://www.homeproject.org.

IKEA Foundation

The IKEA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of INGKA Foundation, the owner of the IKEA Group of companies. We aim to improve opportunities for children and youth in some of the world's poorest communities by funding holistic, long-term programmes that can create substantial, lasting change. The IKEA Foundation works with strong strategic partners applying innovative approaches to achieve large-scale results in four fundamental areas of a child's life: a place to call home; a healthy start in life; a quality education; and a sustainable family income, while helping these communities fight and cope with climate change. For more information, visithttp://www.ikeafoundation.org or http://www.facebook.com/IKEAfoundation .

For more information, please contact: Vassilis Mihailidis, +30-216-809-9152, vassilis.mihailidis@homeproject.org

SOURCE The HOME Project