Refugee-Led Action
​Our approach of "Refugee-Led Action" means that we support refugee-led organisations (RLOs) in Indonesia and Malaysia. ​Here are some examples of what we do:
-
​Help identify priorities & set objectives
-
Provide management & teacher training
-
Coach & mentor refugee teams
-
Provide advice
-
Mediate conflict
-
Help overcome administrative & bureaucratic barriers
-
Provide funding based on project requests​​
120 million
That's how many people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes due to unimaginable circumstances.
Persecution, conflict, violence and events seriously disturbing public order have left them marginalised and stripped of basic human rights. Asia and the Pacific host nearly 17 million refugees, while most countries in the region have not signed the refugee convention and do not have legal frameworks to protect the rights of refugees. Because the willingness of resettlement countries to permanently welcome refugees is ever decreasing, many have to live in uncertainty in transit countries like Malaysia and Indonesia for decades - most will never be able to move on.​​
204,609
That's how many refugees and asylum seekers are registered with the United Nation's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia and Indonesia. ​
​
Imagine being forced to leave behind your home, family and friends to flee to a country where you don't know anyone. Where you don't speak the local language. Where no one understands why you are there. Where you aren't allowed to work. Where you don't receive financial support. Where your children are not allowed to go to school...
​What would you do? Where would you stay? How would you feed your children? What would you tell them? And what would you do if one of them fell sick?​
10 years
That's how long we've been creating impact together!​
Ten years ago, in the hills of Jakarta, the Same Skies founders met a group of people who were in the situation above. But instead of despairing, they decided to empower their community! They wanted to open a school, and together, we turned this vision into a vibrant, sustainable learning centre that is still going strong today.​Ever since, Same Skies has partnered with refugee groups in Indonesia and Malaysia who fill the gap in humanitarian assistance.
Here are examples of what our refugee partners do:
-
Teach their children
-
Share vocational skills
-
Provide information & access to legal services
-
Build community & raise awareness​​
And we are there, by their sides, to offer the support they need.​
At the foundation of our model is Refugee-Led Action - a community-based approach that focuses on refugees’ strengths, resilience and access to human rights.
Through partnership with refugee-led organisations (RLOs), refugees become designers and owners of solutions that they create for themselves and their communities to help fill the gap in humanitarian aid.
Refugees are too often perceived as incapable and vulnerable; as a burden and a drain on host countries. This contradicts what we experience on a daily basis. If refugees are trusted with ownership and decision-making power, their skills and ideas become assets. Meaningful engagement of refugee leaders not only contributes to social cohesion and prosperity, but also to their own resilience and overall wellbeing.
Same Skies Co-Founders, Brad, Julia & Laura, met while working in one of the infamous Australian offshore processing centres in Nauru in 2014. They knew that many refugees had become stranded in Indonesia and Malaysia due to increasingly draconian deterrence policies, and they felt compelled to explore how they could help. Today, Same Skies is registered in Switzerland, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
