Coffee with refugees

The evangelical church Buenas Noticias (Good News) of the Spanish city of Lugo celebrated its first “Coffee with Refugees”.

The aim of this initiative is to welcome the families of refugees who arrive in the city, many of whom have already been assisted by the social branch of this church.

The church serves them since their arrival in Lugo, through the Food Bank, wardrobe, job searching, as well as a community of people where they can be integrated.

MANY LATIN AMERICAN REFUGEES

“We serve refugees from many places. Above all, people from Venezuela, Honduras and El Salvador”, Ana Pérez Lozano, spokeswoman for the church, told local newspaper El Progreso.

She said that “many people from those three countries are now coming to Lugo. Here we receive at least one or two families from El Salvador and Honduras every week”,

The newspaper portrayed the stories of refugees like Rostik and Viera, Ukrainians with a daughter born in Spain, or Ricardo and Rosario, both lawyers from Honduras who are now looking for a future in Spain.

SHARING EXPERIENCES

“Coffee with Refugees” aims to create a space of security and relationships, where the Christian community can be open and inclusive.

The participants have the chance to share their life experiences, the departure from their countries for different reasons, the asylum application process, the difficulties and joys, as well as the hand of God in the midst of all that.

“WELCOMING, PROTECTING AND INTEGRATING”

The children of the refugee families had special activities for them, organized by the church volunteers.

“The majority come with their children. Many of them are already teenagers, who also need to find people of their age. We want them to know each other, to facilitate their integration in their new life in Lugo”, Pérez pointed out.

The motto of the initiative: ‘Welcoming, protecting and integrating’, “defines what we want to achieve in our church”, she concluded.