“as a woman, I have no country” – Virginia Woolf
Listening to the world news can be overwhelming and sometimes one can feel hopeless but we like taking things little by little and moving in some direction is always better than not moving.
We generally do not talk much about the donations we make but decided to write this post because I know that donating can be contagious.
Over two years ago, I found myself in hospital, I was shaken and vulnerable. I had to go to the ER room for two full mornings every week for a very long two months. I have no TV at home but in that room there were three big screens with the news always on. The Syrian refugee crisis was in the news constantly at the time and I could not believe how the Mediterranean could be so terrible for so many people. We make all of our knits by the Mediterranean. So it all started. I began with doing some research and making a couple of donations and then going deeper and deeper into a commitment that of course has no end. I am so grateful for this journey.
Being Spanish and making all our babaà knits in Barcelona, by the Mediterranean, we are well aware of the amount of people from different parts of the world trying to reach Europe. We have lived with this news since we were little. There has always been a constant stream of pateras ( dinghy boats ) trying to reach the Spanish coast. Now we have a company and we want to give something back.
We visited the refugee center in Madrid run by CEAR ( Comisión de Ayuda al Refugiado ) a few years ago, after a donation we made and understood that the problem is not just reaching Europe alive but also trying to stay here and make a living. Having a life. There is so much to do!
So now babaà makes regular money donations to CEAR and to Pro Activa Open Arms. We donate our knit samples to the CEAR refugees center in Getafe, Madrid and we have just hired a refugee, David, as our new graphic designer!
I found so much inspiration in our friends from Ace&Jig who are so committed to making things better always donating to different NGO´s in the US. We are proud to be close to them and to often work together, they make us feel stronger. We aso love the very discreet but amazing work that De Luz y Compañia do in Spain. Not only do they have a catering service for helping hundreds of disabled people but they also hire lots of those men and women, with names and stories, that arrived here in dinghy boats. We are lucky to live/work near two of their restaurants and they are our second home. We thank them for the inspiration and for that contagious strength.
So with this we hope to inspire you to move in any direction you want, always knowing that you are not on your own.
If you want to donate to CEAR you can do so here or to Pro Activa Open Arms here .
As a family we also donate to ACHNUR, you can collaborate here
If you rather donate your time and you are in Madrid, we found great info here
If you are a business in Spain and you want to hire a refugee please contact CEAR here
And for some inspiration, this is a very young turkish girl doing amazing things
Thank you for reading !
xx