Refugee Buddy Network

Refugee Buddy Network is a social media group that connects refugees with online volunteers around the world who can offer friendship, direct aid and support. We match volunteers with refugees on the move, vulnerable, in refugee camps, living in exile in the Levant or Turkey or aiming towards -- or resettled within -- the EU. We do not assist refugees with illegal border crossings or any other unlawful activities. The initiative runs as a crowdsourcing effort, within a targeted audience in a closed Facebook group. We accept applications for emotional and material support from refugees (usually via referrals) and after thoroughly vetting each applicant, we carefully match them with volunteers who have the right skills to address the refugee's needs. All of this is done online, via a mobile phone or computer. Buddies and Refugees are managed within a Buddy Team, with a volunteer Admin at the head of the team. These teams run as self-sustaining cells within the Refugee Buddy Network. The group was started on 1 February 2016 and within 2 weeks we had already reached 1,000 members.