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.
“Love Thy Neighbours” is a project implemented by the Anglican Church in Poland in partnership with Studia Poland (a for-profit entity that aligns with the project’s social mission) to equip Ukrainian refugees with the skills necessary to rebuild their lives in Poland. It provides employability training, business development courses, and language classes designed to help them integrate into Polish society and achieve financial independence.
The program has two aspects: a business training course and language training courses. The business training course is 96 hours over four months that covers: business psychology, Polish business regulations and labor and tax laws, marketing and business planning, and developing a business plan for funding applications. The language courses include specialized medical and technical Polish for professionals that gives participants government-recognized certification upon completion.
Impact and Success Stories
- 70 students have been trained since the program’s inception
- 15 graduates (first quarter 2025), 11 of whom started their own businesses
- Demographics:
- 80-90% women
- Age range: 22 to 65 years
- Beneficiary Testimonial:
- Olgais an artisan who creates handmade baptismal towels. Funding from “Love thy Neighbors” has enabled her to start a small business and sell her products through Facebook.
- Demographics:
According to UNHCR data from 2024, Poland hosts over 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees. Some of the challenges the program faces are: limited Polish language proficiency, which affects refugees’ ability to set up a business; a need for long-term financial support; the legal complexities of Polish business law, and limited scope, as the program currently serves only Ukrainian refugees.
(left to right): Giulia Bonoldi, Olga Miklaszewska, Serhii Sirenko, Svetlana Sirenko, Tom Nolan and Marta Hlushchyk
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.