Today, never in modern history have so many people been forced to leave their homes. Armed conflicts, political crises, climate disasters, and economic inequalities push millions of families onto migration routes. According to the most recent estimates, over 114 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced—a number that continues to grow each year.
Exile often comes with extreme vulnerability. Along migration routes, displaced people are exposed to cold, hunger, violence, and exploitation. The most vulnerable—children, women, and the elderly - bear the heaviest burden. Many live without access to healthcare, education, or decent housing, sometimes for years.
Access to essential services is deteriorating in many countries :
- 120 million people were forcibly displaced in 2024
- 116 million were deprived of essential services
- 307 million need humanitarian aid and protection this year
Forced migration is not only a challenge for those fleeing; it also tests our societies’ capacity for reception, solidarity, and justice. It challenges our social systems while revealing the potential for strong civic engagement.
Logistics & Operational Responsiveness
Today, migration hotspots - areas of high migratory pressure with complex and often inadequate management and reception - are numerous across Europe. Living conditions in these transit zones are often unbearable. While we are aware that our resources remain limited to act everywhere we could technically intervene, we have decided to act sporadically and at our own scale, supporting local organizations.
In Geneva, we maintain two emergency vehicles ready to deploy whenever resources allow, enhancing our responsiveness and capacity for direct intervention in critical areas.
Collaboration and coordination with local actors are essential for us. We believe that interaction and pooling of resources allow aid to be optimized, adapted, and targeted to priority needs and zones.
Our support in action
- At the Franco-Italian border
We provided logistical and material support to associations active in the Italian Hautes Alpes (Col de Montgenèvre, Briançon, Oulx), assisting refugees facing extreme mountain conditions and high security pressure (warm clothing, tents and blankets, food and water, hygiene products, etc.).
- In Calais & surrounding areas
We offered material support to organizations assisting refugees waiting to cross to the United Kingdom, who were living in precarious conditions and often facing repression.
- At the Belarus-Poland border
We provided logistical support to NGOs operating in the Bialowieza forest, helping refugees trapped in a militarized, isolated area under extreme climate and brutal political conditions. In addition to essential goods, we supplied an all-terrain vehicle suitable for local conditions for several months.
Developing and Emergency Fund
Since its creation, Van For Life has mobilized all its resources to provide support in crisis contexts. Building on our experiences in Ukraine and Greece, we are aware that crises often arise without warning, that budget cuts in Europe have heavy consequences for international solidarity, and that intervention in every context is frequently complex. Nevertheless, we believe that everyone can contribute, at their own scale, to improving the lives of those forced to leave their homes, families, and countries.
That is why we decided to develop an Emergency Fund, which, in addition to our deployable vehicles, will allow us to act more broadly and support local actors across an expanded operational horizon: Andalusia, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and more.
Resources Needed to Intervene:Â
- Finance exploratory missions
- Assess needs on the field for an appropriate response
- Consolidate funding to sustain our several projects
