Soutien Belge OverSeas known as SB Overseas began as community effort amongst concerned citizens in Brussels who decided to intervene in the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Middle East. As these efforts grew in involvement and impact, something became increasingly obvious: providing a safe environment for children was a short-term solution, but there was no long term hope for a generation of kids who had had their education interrupted by the war. It became clear that an entire generation of children were being left on the sidelines of society not equipped with the skills or opportunities to regain control of their lives. With this in mind, SB OverSeas opened its first school in Lebanon, home to over 1,5 million Syrian refugees. Since opening our first school, we have expanded to having three schools in Shatila, Arsal and Saida. We have also expanded our programs to provide vocational courses to adults as well as empowerment courses to combat the increasingly prevalent practice of child marriage. Our headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium where we coordinate these activities as well as running our SB Espoir project, a weekend integration program with unaccompanied minors living in asylum-centres.
Mission
Our Mission is Equipping those escaping conflict and violence with concrete and necessary educational and professional tools to enable them regaining control over their lives and building a sustainable future.
Building sustainable development projects aimed at providing social and economic opportunities to asylum seekers to rebuild their lives and integrate in their new country and/or to resettle in their country of origin.
Educating and raising awareness about the challenges and needs of the Middle East countries affected by the refugee crises by representing the voice of the civil society and conducting a series of thematic discussions
Boosting solidarity and the integration and inclusion of unaccompanied minors’ asylum-seekers and families in Belgium by building a bridge between them and Belgian civic society
Supporting sustainable returns and reintegration strategies in refugee’s countries of origins once they were able to upgrade their skills via SB OverSeas
Explore and promote the use of innovative and alternative forms of democratic participation, e.g. digital democracy tools and facilitate access in order to support youth participation in democratic life and engage young people in an inclusive way, whilst being aware that some young people do not have access to the internet and digital technologies, or the skills to use them.
Vision
A world where women and children can feel safe, hopeful, healthy and where they are able to shape their own future, notwithstanding their legal conditions and country of origins.
Responding to the ongoing migration crises currently affecting the economic, institutional and social development of any given society.
Building peaceful and inclusive societies, providing access to justice for all and at building inclusive institutions, as recommended by the SDG 16 of the United Nations Agenda 2030
Building multicultural societies and fostering mutual understanding between refugees’ communities and hosting communities
