Our Story
The Island
Lesvos, a beautiful island right off the coast of Greece and Turkey, that has been hit hard by the refugee crisis. It is home to two refugee camps: RIC Lesvos (home to 13,000 refugees) and Kara Tepe Hospitality Center (home to 1,200 refugees). Our team visited the island twice in the past year.
The Connection
During these visits, we listened as refugee teenagers, youth, and young adults shared their harrowing journeys and their current lives with us. The one commonality in everyone’s stories--the one thing getting them through the hell of the camps was knowing that there was a possibility of a better life on the other side of this. The key lynchpin of that “better life” is securing employment. Finding a future job was at the center of everyone’s future goals.
Reconnecting a Year Later
Now connecting with many of our refugee friends after they have left the camps, we understand that they continue to be challenged every day. They now struggle to find work, learn the native language, and understand the place they are living in. With minimal help from the government and little understanding of their new country, refugees are largely left on their own to figure things out.
The Challenge
How could we help our refugee friends navigate their new city and their new lives?
The Barriers
Disconnected refugee social services and the fragmented resettlement system make it difficult for refugees to seek help. Not to mention, most resources that do exist are either hidden behind high subscription fees or lack availability in Arabic & Farsi. Our team felt that there had to be a better way.
The Opportunity
That better way became Key. Key Learning designs low-tech solutions that provide newly resettled refugees with digestible information about everything from how to set up a credit card to understanding the public transportation system of their city. We seek to help refugees become more independent and more at home.