THE PROJECT
HANDBAG/BACK TO PEACE is a charity campaign to the benefit of Syrian refugee children in northern Iraq. The situation in northern Iraq is dramatic. Over there, people from Syria and Iraq are seeking refuge from war and terror. Terre des hommes supports the children in refugee camps whose families have left everything behind and are now practically left with nothing.
By means of the campaign by terre des hommes Deutschland e.V. and Ippenburg Festival, everyone gets a chance to make a small, yet most helpful contribution towards helping the children in the refugee camps.
Your donation helps the local partner organizations of terre des hommes to finance child protection centers in northern Iraq. In these centers, social workers take care of traumatized children and provide psychological care; sports and music classes allow the children to cope easier with daily life in the refugee camps, and teachers offer good instruction, in order to prepare the children for the future.
Under the motto „I may not be able to change the big picture, but I can start small and plant for it“, we appeal to the public to take a bag and plant it with flowers as a symbol of solidarity. Bags, because every single one of us owns at least one bag. Some travel with us every day, others keep us company on long journeys. While fleeing, many people also have a suitcase, a backpack, or and old bag, in which they carry their personal belongings and their most important possessions. Plants, because they symbolize something positive and alive; they stand for strength, but also for fragility. Furthermore, they simply grow out of the ground, apparently from nothing.
„terre des hommes“ means „soil of humanity“. Our goal is to carry on humanity, despite all violence and terror.
This call goes out to everybody who would like to support the project and who would like to let it grow with us. Everyone who would like to „plant hope“ as well, just fill up a bag with flowers or plants and share a photo of it marked with #bag2peace on www.facebook.com/bag2peace We hope to raise more awareness for the campaign this way.
HANDBAG/BACK TO PEACE
Under the patronage of German actress and TV host Barbara Schöneberger, who already happens to be an ambassador for “terre des hommes” herself, Ippenburg Festival demonstrates this summer that small gestures can make a big difference. Donated by celebrities and planted with flowers, fifty bags will be showcased on a huge shelf –a spectacular installation by the renowned German artist Volker-Johannes Trieb. On September 20th, 2015, the bags will be auctioned off to the benefit the HANDBAG/BACK TO PEACE charity for refugee children from Syria.
Barbara Schöneberger
“Planting hope! –That sounds marvellous!
As an ambassador for terre des hommes, the well-being of the Syrian children in the refugee camps in northern Iraq is near and dear to me. If one had to leave their former life behind just to have a chance to survive, one depends on the grounds of humanity to grow something new. It’s a matter of urgency to plant more hope – let’s get started!”
Loretta Stern
“In times when change (mostly for the worse) appears to be the only reliable factor, it is necessary to take action in order to secure at least a minimum of humanity for those fleeing from cruelty. But even if everything we do will only be the famous drop in the bucket, at least we try to change something for the better. I am well aware that I cannot change the big picture, but I can start small by planting for it. Will you join me?“
