“A Gesture of Solidarity”. The Speisehaus supports the Swiss initiative ‘One Happy Family’

Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland, 13 March 2020

“A Gesture of Solidarity”
The Speisehaus supports the Swiss initiative ‘One Happy Family’

The Speisehaus at the Goetheanum is supporting the Swiss organization ‘One Happy Family’ between 1 March and 30 June 2020 with one Swiss franc per meal sold. This was prompted by the fact that the ‘School of Peace’ in the Community Center for Refugees on the island of Lesbos was completely burned down.

The Speisehaus already supported the community centre on the Greek island of Lesbos during the 2019 Christmas season by selling olive oil to benefit ‘One Happy Family’. When Lucas Didden asked about a new project, he heard about the fire and its devastating effects. The manager of the Speisehaus at the Goetheanum spontaneously decided to financially support the project: From 1 March to 30 June 2020, the Speisehaus will donate one Swiss franc for each conference meal sold to the centre for refugees.

“The situation on Lesbos is critical”, Lucas Didden explains. “The refugees there are housed in makeshift accommodation. At the same time, outside the camps, there is an atmosphere of hatred with attacks on aid agencies, which are currently drawing down there activities”. Therefore, the Speisehaus sees itself called “to gesture solidarity and to provide concrete help in such a situation”, Lucas Didden continues.

The organisation ‘One Happy Family’, based in Burgdorf, Switzerland, has made it its mission to help people in refugee situations and to support the community centre of the same name on the island of Lesbos. The aim is to offer activities and education to the refugees so that they can use their time in a dignified and meaningful way. One project is the ‘School of Peace’, where according to the association, over 4,000 children have been taught since 2017. According to the association, the fire completely destroyed the school with its nine classrooms and its main hall, as well as the main offices and a workshop. As a result of the fire, 250 children do not receive any lessons, adults cannot attend their Greek and English classes, and they cannot cook 800 meals a day, the activists of ‘One Happy Family’ summarize the consequences of the fire. Furthermore, there is no access to resources such as the medical clinic, library, computer room and café.
(2179 characters/SJ; translation by Bettina Hindes)

Web www.speisehaus.ch

Contact Person Lucas Didden, lucas.didden@speisehaus.ch