The refugee crisis is one that has dominated the news for the past few months. It is both a political and economic issue, with devastating effects for societies across the globe. However, it is also a moral crisis, a question of empathy and taking ethical actions to protect other people. The American School of Barcelona and the International School of Brussels are working together to raise awareness for this issue. The ISB community have been involved in many projects with the refugees such as making 200 sandwiches on a weekly basis, organising and collecting donations, working collaboratively with one of the refugees to write and perform a piece of music and raising funds. Students also organize activities at Fedasil and invite youth from Caritas to ISB to play sports and organized an activity afternoon for young children from the refugee school.

Both ASB and ISB have recieved a number of life jackets that were discarded on the shores of Greece. Each life jacket has been transformed into a work of art that represent students' thoughts and feelings on the refugee crisis.

Each life jacket will be individually designed by a student, making the project a school wide effort and an opportunity to expand one’s creative thinking. 

The project has prospects for the future, emphasising the importance of helping those who are less privileged continuously.  Although the primary goal is to raise awareness for the ongoing refugee crisis, the project also raises the students’ awareness of their capabilities of tackling social problems, helping them to shape their way of thinking and create a place for themselves in society.

In addition to the life jacket exhibition there will be the opportunity to find out more about many of the other local service learning projects that the HS students are involved in.