Our objective: Promoting the integration of vulnerable people having fled their home countries, particularly children.
Lake Aid having developed a lot over the years, we currently follow too many families and unaccompanied minors to introduce them all to you, but here are the stories of some of the families and individuals we support.
Bjori and Mersi arrived in France in 2014 from Kosovo. They were just 6 years old. Manuela Fresil told their story in her remarkable documentary “The Wheat and the Tares“. Shifted from one precarious accommodation to another (emergency shelter in winter, a rented car for the night, a shack in a Roma camp…), they never missed school and speak fluent French. During the winter of 2015, they were hosted by a Lake Aid volunteer, then in emergency shelter where Lake Aid set up a tutoring workshop. B and M regularly participated in Lake Aid’s outings and solidarity camps.
They have now been granted legal status after an 8-year wait.
Theresa was 3 years old in 2017 when she arrived with her mother from the Democratic Republic of Congo. They were initially hosted by a Lake Aid volunteer before the arrival of their two older brothers a year later. The brothers were then housed three hours from Annecy, and later moved even further away. Nevertheless, the children continued to participate in the solidarity camps supported by Lake Aid.
The family has now obtained legal status after an eight-year wait.
E. came to France in 2017 with her mother, who had no access to support for her daughter’s disability in Kosovo. Several Lake Aid volunteers supported this isolated woman, who devoted herself to her daughter, a joyful woman who needed assistance with all her daily needs. Then, the father joined them, and together they were able to find enough work to finance their accommodation.
However, their application has still not been accepted.
Aleksandr came from Ukraine in 2018 with his sister and mother.
The family was granted asylum and is housed in Annecy. Interested in careers related to nature, A. seems to have found his calling in vocational high school after four difficult years in middle school. With the help of one of our members, he landed a work experience placement in a bakery during his final year of middle school and would have loved to stay longer! His best memories with Lake Aid are the days spent in the snow and at the swimming pool, the Christmas party, and the community service camps.
Behrani, an unaccompanied minor who arrived from Eritrea in 2015, also remains faithfully in contact with his “Lake Aid mentor,” despite the passing years and the distance. Now with legal status, married, and a new father, he works as a lathe operator in a factory in Belfort and is preparing to get his driver’s license to become a bus driver. Read his story here.
Accacia, Allegra, and Alliance arrived in Annecy with their mother in 2016, while their father was a political prisoner in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Initially hosted by a Lake Aid volunteer, they were later housed in Valence, but the children regularly returned to our region for holidays to stay with their host mother, thanks to Lake Aid’s support. Their father was eventually able to join them, and a little sister was born at the end of 2018!
They were granted asylum and housing in 2019.
Discover our latest news:
- Obaidullah’s journey – “We left our country because of the war“.
- Toussaint’s journey – “I was next on the list.