MISSION

The Twin Star Project is a Swiss-registered non-profit organisation, established in 2018 that helps migrants who are impoverished and often homeless transition to employment and a self-sustaining life. We work with migrants with legal status in Europe who have fled war or economic hardship in Africa, Asia or the Middle East.

The Twin Star Project covers their living costs while helping them find work and achieve financial self-reliance in Europe or their countries of origin.

BACKGROUND

The presence of homeless migrants struggling to survive is patently evident on Europe’s streets. It is tragic to witness what happens to ordinary, law-abiding citizens in search of work or a safe haven on the journey from their countries of origin to staging points in Africa and the Middle East, across perilous seas and when they finally arrive in Europe.

The migrants that we encounter want what all human beings desire — to work, live in peace, provide for their children and have a stable future. They do not want to leave their home countries but do so out of desperation, because they see no other solution to the venal corruption, grinding poverty, hopeless future and, for many, mortal danger they face there. They have chosen to make the dangerous journey to Europe in search of a way to earn a living and support their families.

After landing in Europe, migrants are taken to reception camps where they live for a limited period and receive food, medical care and language courses. The first step in their new country has been made. The difficulty starts when they are required to leave the camp. This is the critical phase that will determine their long-term success or failure in the new country. They have no financial resources and must find work to support themselves. This is extremely difficult, if not impossible, due to a lack of employment opportunities. Few manage to find temporary, low-paying jobs let alone permanent employment.

We encounter them homeless and impoverished on the streets — people hanging over the edge of a cliff. Our aim is to give these migrants the hand which pulls them onto terra firma and sets them and their families on the road to becoming financially independent productive members of society, either in Europe or their countries of origin.

OUR APPROACH

The Twin Star Project takes a two-phase approach.

Phase 1: Halfway House

Get migrants off the street and into The Twin Star Project halfway house where we cover their basic life needs until they have a steady source of income. For a period of up to two years, The Twin Star Project provides housing support, a monthly allowance (for food, toiletries & clothing), medical care, psychological counselling, vocational training, language instruction, employment preparation (CV etc.) and job search. With their basic needs met the migrants can focus on preparing themselves and finding employment.

Phase 2: Kickstart Migrant Businesses in Europe or Africa

In certain cases The Twin Star Project provides seed capital and business-related guidance to migrants who wish to launch a small business, for example, a grocery store, in Europe.

Others would return home if they had adequate capital to launch a micro enterprise. In these cases, The Twin Star Project helps to kickstart migrants’ projects in their country of origin – construction of a decent dwelling, purchase of a second-hand car for use as a taxi, investment in a small kiosk to sell groceries, purchase of agricultural land. These small investments will enable the migrants to become financially and professionally independent.