Turning ideas into reality. For me, that is one of the most exciting aspects of my role at Save the Children as a link between dedicated companies and our projects for children in need. And when two strong partners work together and draw on their respective expertise, we see the kinds of innovative projects we can realise.
A participatory project combined with lots of expertise
Our partner IKEA works every day to address the question of what makes a room a home. We also ask ourselves this question as part of our projects in asylum centres across Switzerland. After all, every day we are confronted with the fact that these centres are not furnished in a child-friendly way, even though that is extremely important for the well-being of the children and families residing there. This is precisely where the partnership between Save the Children and IKEA comes in to create a more family-friendly environment by furnishing the limited space available in a clever way. However, it’s important that these changes are not just a visual upgrade to the individual rooms; instead, we need to have an open discussion that includes the displaced children, adolescents, and families as well as the employees at the centres. The result of this discussion was a pilot project with the goal of furnishing rooms in a way that will improve the well-being of displaced families.
In participatory workshops together with the international service provider ORS at two asylum centres, Save the Children noted down the concerns, requests and needs of the displaced persons, in particular the children. They also talked to employees of the centres to get their perspectives. This allowed the project team to identify the most pressing issues and combine this with IKEA’s furnishing expertise and Save the Children’s specialist knowledge. IKEA’s plans for the common rooms, containers and, in some cases, outdoor areas looked promising, and I was looking forward to the days when we would assemble and install everything together.
Four days, two asylum centres and a long-term impact
The dedicated employee volunteers from IKEA were then responsible for making these plans a reality. After intensive planning and coordination, the time had finally come and, after a brief tour by the centre managers, all that was left to do was get started! With active support from the families and children living in the centres, we assembled new furniture, distributed toys, and decorated and repaired the space with a great deal of motivation. Together with the children, we painted pictures, framed them and hung them on the walls straight away to give the rooms a unique flair. At the end of the first day, a common room with a children’s corner had become a colourful and inviting space in IKEA’s signature style.
The rest of the week continued on in a similarly hectic, action-packed way. The four days were exciting and varied, and it was truly impressive to see for myself how the rooms were transformed from A to Z. It was clear that all of the helpers were proud of their work and happy to be part of the project. However, the loveliest endorsement of the project was from the children themselves, who had already started playing with the toy kitchen, car rug and coloured pencils from IKEA while we were still setting up. The children’s curiosity, joy and energy are the greatest motivation. Making this idea a reality was truly worth it, and we know from our other projects how important it is for children to be able to play and dream. So kids can simply be kids.
We would like to take this opportunity to say a big “tack” to IKEA for helping make this project happen, to the project team for their important expert input, and – above all – to all the helpers for pitching in and assembling the IKEA furniture with us, all without arguing or having a nervous breakdown!
Stay tuned – new ideas are already in the planning stages and we look forward to reporting on them here once they have become a reality.