• Project: Aid for refugees
• Supported since 2016

After a long, utterly exhausting, and life-threatening escape from their home in Syria, a family with five children finally reached save grounds in Austria. The family had lost their house and all of their wealth in the war. Together with other refugees the family was initially received in a shakedown in a village close to Eisenstadt. The aid organisation Burgenland covered their care. Furthermore, several of the villagers offered voluntary services and care, such as educational help and language courses. The essentials were quickly organized for the families. The network of helpers, which was established at that time is still very active today. Since then, the family was officially accepted by the town and a house was rented to them. This way it is now possible for the family to build new roots in safety and start to work on processing the trauma of their escape.

When Anna and Gertraud got to know the children at a birthday party, they were moved by the story and decided straight away to offer the support of Moving Child. Since then, Moving Child has supported the children continuously by enabling special tutoring and training. The two older sons decided to pursue practical training programs: one is very happy with this training to become a car mechanic, while the other has started training to become a dental technician. They have succeeded in finding employment, which gives them personal fulfilment and joy. Two of the younger children also recently started high school.

“When we met the Syrian children, we were impressed and deeply touched by their openness and their curiosity for the new environment and circumstance. The children are very dear to us and their future is an important concern of ours.”

Anna Schulz-Dornburg and Gertraud Leimstättner