Over the next 10 days, I will be sharing a photo series with you that I have been working on for the past year called ‘The Dream Diaries’.

Together with graphic designer Annegien Schilling I have been traveling through Europe to meet children and young adults who fled their home countries due to war and persecution, leaving everything behind except their hopes and dreams of a better future. Now they are creating new lives in Europe. Through engaging with the many children we met, they shared their dreams with us. Once we had gathered their stories and dreams, we created an image of those dreams to symbolize their realization.

The Dream Diaries is a collaboration between Humans of Amsterdam/Debra Barraud, graphic designer Annegien Schilling (Instagram: Fetching_tigerss), Filmmaker Kris Pouw and the UN Refugee Agency.

We hope you will open your hearts and welcome them. While most of the children we met during the making of this project have been granted asylum in Europe, they now face the many challenges that come along with building new lives in a new country. Their stories really touched us and through the project we saw the strength of these children and how with the right support they can achieve anything.

We were able to create this photo series with the help of

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

which works to protect people who have to flee their homes because of war and persecution.

You can help too – the UN Refugee Agency has set up a worldwide petition which asks decision makers to grant refugees safety education, and opportunities. Please sign here so refugees can turn their dreams into reality, and show you welcome refugees
http://www.unhcr.org/withrefugees/

Photo by Humans of Amsterdam/Fetching_Tigerss/UNHCR/Dimedrol68/Shutterstock.com

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