CRGP Field Reports
The following is a field report conducted by the administration team of the Convocation Refugee Grant Program. The CRGP Team travels to the project sites around Europe at least once a year to check in on project status, support the local project managers and coordinators, listen to any potential concerns or issues, and celebrate the successes.
If you would like more information on starting or finding funding for a local refugee and migrant support project, please contact our team at welcomegrant@episcopaleurope.org.
“Food for Thought, Soup for Souls,” led by the Philippine Independent Church in Brussels, provides support to victims of human trafficking. The victims are primarily Filipinos who were recruited through legal agencies in the Philippines but then diverted to exploitative jobs in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands after their one-year contracts expired. Workers were housed in abandoned warehouses, paid below minimum wage, and denied healthcare. Others were au pairs subjected to exploitative and unfair working conditions.
Currently the two largest challenges for program organizers are limited Dutch or French language proficiency among the beneficiaries and their own fear of reporting exploitative situations due to the immigration status.
Victims found Food for Thought through word-of-mouth and community networks such as resume and job search platforms. Volunteers and program organizers also expanded their outreach through partnerships with Holy Trinity Brussels (Church of England) and Kabataan, a group of women who are expats and wanted to help refugees in Brussels.
The group watched “Overseas” (2018), a movie directed by sung-a Yoon, a Belgian-Korean director, to raise awareness about domestic worker exploitation.
Direct Beneficiaries (First Quarter 2025):
- 60 individuals participated in their May 28 community kitchen/workshop (mix of undocumented migrants and trafficking victims)
- Breakdown:
- 42 women, 18 men (primarily Filipino, Bangladeshi, and Turkish nationals)
- Included 12 families connected to precarious labor or trafficking cases
- Psychosocial Support was provided to 25 trafficking survivors (19 Filipinos, 6 from other nationalities)
- Breakdown:
(left to right) Giulia Bonodli (Chief Welcoming Officer of the Convocation), Father June Mark Yanez, Kenji Kim Sario, Clarisa Ramos and Einstein Recedes.
Father Yanez leads mass, Kenji is a program volunteer and Einstein is currently receiving support from the program. Clarisa is the project administrator and also a political refugee herself.
More CRGP and Refugee & Migrant News Stories
“Project Hope for Migrants” grows in Portugal, expands offerings in legal support for refugees
The program now offers Portuguese language classes, legal assistance, rent support, and emergency medical funding for refugees while continuing the work with their Portuguese neighbors.
A Place of Hope in Strasbourg, France
The Bernanos Centre was originally a student dorm on the campus of the Université de Strasbourg but, since 2016, has been transformed into a center for URM. “It’s really a place of hope, a way of being in solidarity with those in difficult circumstances.” That’s how Fr. Mark Barwick describes “Welcoming the Stranger,” a collaborative program to house and help unaccompanied refugee minors (URM) in Strasbourg, France.
Building dignity and belonging at Christ the King in Frankfurt, Germany
Building a holistic, community-based support system for vulnerable individuals in ways that encourage belonging and dignity is the overarching focus of projects at the Anglican/Episcopal Church of Christ the King (Frankfurt) that are being funded through their second grant from the Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP).
Report from the 2026 ERD field visit to selected CRGP project locations
Five Convocation Refugee Grant Programs (CRGP) in Germany, France and Italy received visits and support from the combined leadership team from Episcopal Relief & Development and CRGP.
Report from the UN Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025
The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe represented at the UN Global Refugee Forum Progress Review in Geneva, Switzerland, by the Right Reverend Mark Edington and Giulia Bonoldi, Chief Welcoming Officer.
Observations from the “Hope Makers” conference in Berlin, Germany
Socorro Heepe was the Convocation’s Racial Justice Ministry representative to the conference – “Hope Makers: From Hostility to Hospitality – which brought together representatives from the Church of England (Diocese in Europe and the Racial Justice Unit), the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), the World Council of Churches (WCC), United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG), academic institutions, interfaith organizations, and civil society partners.