When Amira was 20, she was making a home for her and her husband in Syria. Then the war came. Desperate to escape the extreme violence she fled with her newborn son, leaving behind her own home, her close friends and all her personal belongings.
Becoming a refugee is not a choice, it is a desperate action that is prompted by fear and survival. For those who survive the perilous journey, they are often traumatized.
If you have a moment, close your eyes and imagine how you would welcome a loved one who had been on a journey like Amira. An open door, a hug, comfort, safety, a welcome meal, a place to rest, the space to heal. It’s powerful isn’t it? An environment to be safe, to heal and to grow. The normal thing is to welcome, the outcome is transformational.
That’s what Love Welcomes is all about.
Love Welcomes exists to transform refugee lives and offer a loving welcome to refugee women, one thread at a time. We do this by employing women who are refugees to make homewares which are more than beautiful, they are transformational. Women are on average supporting 4-6 other refugees in their community - often children - this is why we welcome women.
We don’t believe that the solution to people being forced to run away from war is to build walls, send people off to islands or lock them up and forget about them.
Our vision is to change the perception and treatment of refugees around the world with a response focused on dignity, inclusion and economic and social well-being. One stitch at a time we are building this community, challenging the inhumane and archaic response models with a loving welcome. It’s easy to get discouraged, and feel helpless but the normal thing is to welcome, it is transformational for refugees and also for us.
Today Amira has learnt new skills, she has become the workshop manager, organising shifts for all the women on our team. Amira kept going, one step at a time and one stitch at a time - when offered a loving welcome along with an income, a community of supportive friends and trained her in new weaving skills. She transformed her life and the life of her son.
The pride the women take in knowing that the products they have created are in your home is immense - you are part of their story and they are part of yours. Every product you buy has this story of hope woven into the fabric. From their home to yours, love welcomes refugees.
We need your help, if you have not already - please sign up to our newsletter, find us on instagram and facebook and start the conversation with your friends. Together we can change the way that refugees are talked about and how they are often treated.
Over the next 12 weeks we are going to be telling stories and sharing the hopes, fears and personal experiences of the women who create our amazing products.
These are human stories and we hope you will join us in sharing these stories with you friends, and in doing so share a vision of the world we would like to see, a world where the normal thing is to welcome.
It was a vicious war in Syria that caused Amira to leave everything she had behind and start a new journey with her son.
The normal thing is to welcome, the outcome is transformational.
More than beautiful
Love Welcomes