Human Aid Now has been providing weekly food and other basic items to undocumented refugees in Amsterdam since September 2016. During the corona pandemic, the needs increased steeply.

75% of our beneficiaries were undocumented people who lost their informal jobs during the pandemic and did not to regain (sufficient) employment. The remaining 25% were people with papers, but with extremely complicated situations, making their access to the regular social services very complicated and/or impossible.

At the end of 2021, we had hoped that with the end of the Covid crisis in sight, those distributions would not be needed any more. Unfortunately, the labour market for our target population has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels and, due to the high inflation, people who had regained self-sufficiency were forced again to come and get a package.

Between March 2020 and September 2023, we have delivered over a quarter million food packages, 1.5 million diapers, 100.000 periodic pads and much more!

By the autumn of 2023, we were still delivering 1.200 packages per week, aiding about 4.500 people, of whom nearly half are children.

During the following year 2024, we have been downscaling the program to mitigate the danger of indefinite dependency as much as possible,

At present, we are helping 500 undocumented families (with 360 weekly food packages) and 250 documented families (with 175 weekly food packages), including some hygiene items. The beneficiary population includes 30% elderly or chronically sick, 40% single mothers, 10% homeless (temporary group) and 20% needing help on an irregular basis e.g. 1-2 times a month.

We do not envisage that these needs can diminish over time, so if we manage to secure the necessary funding, we will continue at this level in 2025.

We deliver basic food and hygiene products to distribution projects close to the communities they are assisting. Volunteers from the community create wholesome nutritious food packages and distribute them. We also assist these different distribution projects by advising on fundraising, coordination, project management, logistics, volunteers, and administration.

The food project is financed by Dutch charity Funds and the Municipality of Amsterdam. Hygiene items and diapers for the babies have been supplied through private donations. These needs are ongoing for the worst-off families.

Extra donations are always welcome.

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