Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland

We are “team refugee”: a team of over ten thousand motivated volunteers and paid staff. We believe that people who have had to leave their homes for fear of oppression, persecution and war should be able to build a new existence in safety. An existence in which they can fully participate and contribute to our society.

VluchtelingenWerk Nederland was founded over 45 years ago, in 1979. Its goal? To support refugees at all times, independent of politics.

Until then, human rights organisations, churches and the government stood up for the protection of refugees. Now a professional organisation emerged, working with volunteers to provide reception, protection and integration. After years of being organised locally, the association was transformed into one national organisation in 2022: Dutch Refugee Council Foundation.