More than a million refugees arrived in Germany in 2015 and 2016. Many escaped war and persecution from conflict zones such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The majority of these refugees were men. Husbands and fathers had to leave their families behind because the routes to Europe by land and sea were too dangerous for women and children.
Once those refugees had made it safely to Europe, they still feared for their families. They worried about their safety and when – if ever – they would see them again.
In Germany, refugees can apply for family reunification once asylum has been officially granted. But they need to find the funds to arrange the safe travel of their families to Europe. Depending on the number of children, the costs can be in the thousands of euros. Most refugees cannot afford that. 

With your support, we can help these refugee families!
The protection of family unity is very important to us!
Thanks to many individual and institutional donors, more than 1,500 refugee families in need received support from Diakonie in the past two years and were reunited!
The funds are distributed in consultation with the local refugee advisory centres throughout Germany. The staff at the centres works closely with refugees from the day of their arrival. The funds are allocated according to need and cover a third of the travel costs.