Who We Are
We are a volunteer-run, non-profit association registered in Germany, with volunteers contributing from around the globe.
We aim to concentrate our efforts and resources where we feel they will have the most impact, ensuring our efforts are targeted and effective. Our interventions are guided by the needs, desires and preferences of the community, and all our activities are collaborative, built on relationships and networks of mutual trust and respect.
Our team works in direct collaboration with specific marginalised refugee communities, enabling us to develop stronger relationships and extend our networks to increase and expand our impact, aiming to provide the support that both meets community needs and desires, as well as takes into account our own capacity and resources.
Fundamental to our approach, we work in ways that respect, highlight and celebrate the identity, strengths, capacity and achievements of the communities we support.
UHfR was originally founded in 2020 as a grass-roots initiative by a small group of volunteers.
We have continued evolving, growing and adapting, whilst always maintaining our core focus of collaborating and working in solidarity with displaced communities, amplifying marginalised voices and fighting for justice.
- Started off as a cross-cultural solidarity project in Feb 2020
- Evolved into meeting COVID-19 needs during the pandemic
- Formally registered in Hamburg
- Began Yazidi community-based support
- Ongoing COVID-19 support for displaced families
- Full implementation of Yazidi Support Programs
- First annual grant by The Fund for Global Human Rights
- Co-hosted Heinrich Böll Foundation event
- Agile response to support regional earthquake relief
- Forging new partnerships with local refugee-led initiatives
- Expanded support for displaced Yazidi communities
- Increased focus on advocating for protection and resettlement pathways
- Prioritising women facing sexual and gender-based violence
- Building a global network of collaborators and partners
- Started off as a cross-cultural solidarity project in Feb 2020
- Evolved into meeting COVID-19 needs during the pandemic
- Formally registered in Hamburg
- Began Yazidi community-based support
- Ongoing COVID-19 support for displaced families
- Full implementation of Yazidi Support Programs
- First annual grant by The Fund for Global Human Rights
- Co-hosted Heinrich Böll Foundation event
- Agile response to support regional earthquake relief
- Forging new partnerships with local refugee-led initiatives
- Expanded support for displaced Yazidi communities
- Increased focus on advocating for protection and resettlement pathways
- Prioritising women facing sexual and gender-based violence
- Building a global network of collaborators and partners
OUR MISSION
Our core mission is to respond to, collaborate with, and support marginalised refugee communities, in particular the Yazidi community, in ways that uplift and lead to immediate and long-term improved life conditions and social justice outcomes, in-line with international human rights standards. We are also dedicated to raising awareness within the broader global community, towards overcoming prejudice and discrimination, and increasing solidarity, empathy and compassionate human connections.
Our Vision & Values
We envision a more equal and just world, in which all have their basic needs fulfilled and their human rights respected, in order to live in dignified, safe and healthy conditions, regardless of one’s nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, race or sexual preference.
To support this vision, we believe in trusting the expertise and following the leadership of the communities we work with. We believe in respecting, highlighting and celebrating the identity, strengths and achievements of the communities we support. In our collaborations, we seek to empower and uplift, particularly ensuring that decisions are made by, and power is genuinely located with, the refugee communities themselves.
We see our work and approach at UHfR as an opportunity for those of us who are politically and economically privileged, and who have access to resources, to demonstrate our support for, solidarity with and commitment to those who have been marginalised and oppressed by local and global systemic injustice and rights abuse. We seek to amplify their stories, their voices and their needs, to work together to improve their circumstances, as well as to seek systemic change and justice towards a fairer world for all.
Whilst recognising that we are a small organisation, we are committed to contributing towards this broad vision in the context of the local communities we support.
Walking alongside those we serve with care and understanding
Treating everyone with dignity and honoring their stories
Standing together to resist fear & create change
Acting with honesty and staying true to your word
Listening to and learning from the communities we work with
OUR GOALS
Whilst recognising that we are a small organisation, we are committed to contributing towards these broad global goals. Particularly we work on achieving these goals in the context of the specific communities we support, including forced migrants, refugees and ethnic minorities.
- To ensure basic human rights are respected, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Particularly to ensure access to basic needs including: food, clothing, household needs, medical care, education and psychological support.
- To support the preservation of cultural identity and heritage.
- To serve as an intermediary and representative with donors, authorities, institutions and global stakeholders, to support and advocate for the fulfillment of rights and needs.
- To provide documented evidence of human rights violations for partners and stakeholders, advocating for the fulfilment of human rights standards, particularly access to basic needs.
- To ensure financial and structural sustainability for UHfR through the development of partnerships, effective fundraising and enhancing the organisation’s visibility and connectivity.
We welcome your support
As a volunteer-run organization, we rely on compassionate individuals like you to strengthen our impact. Whether through donations, volunteering, or raising awareness, your involvement helps us maintain our trusted relationships with communities and respond effectively to their evolving needs.
Join our growing network of supporters committed to creating positive change for displaced communities.
Together, we can build a more inclusive and supportive world.
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