Edgewater, NJ -- On October 28, 2021, RISE Travel Institute will be hosting Refugee Resilience Through Art: An Exhibition, a fundraising event for Love Without Borders for Refugees in Need, a nonprofit organization that supports refugees in Greece regain stability and autonomy over their lives through the production of original art.

 

Love Without Borders provides refugees in Greek camps, shelters, and housing communities with a source of emotional expression and economic self-empowerment while giving them a platform to spread awareness of the conditions in which they live and their varied and largely unmet needs. They provide donation-funded art supplies to the refugees, then exhibit and sell the resulting works of art around the world. One hundred percent of the earnings from the sale of refugees’ artwork to the artist who created each piece.

 

RISE Travel Institute will be hosting such an art exhibition online on October 28, 2021, at 6:00pm ET. The exhibition will feature artwork by a number of refugee artists, mostly women and children from conflict zones including Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and some Central African countries, who are currently seeking asylum in Greece. Event attendees will be able to purchase the art and directly support the artists who created the pieces, helping them gain financial stability. Ticket sales for the event will go to support both Love Without Borders and the event host RISE Travel Institute, a nonprofit educational institute that inspires responsible, impactful, sustainable, and ethical travel through education. 

 

Through this fundraising event for Love Without Borders for Refugees in Need, RISE Travel Institute aims to help bring awareness to the global refugee crisis and to share the link between travel, migration, and forced displacement. Travel, in the broadest sense of the word, means to go from one place to another. It's only modern-day usage of the word that makes us equate 'travel' and 'leisure travel' and 'tourism'. Migration and forced displacement are examples of travel as they involve a journey from one place to another; it's just that the experience involved is quite different. Refugees often travel hundreds of miles without any aid and with very little money for food and shelter. The journey is very dangerous and many people do not survive. But for those that do, they will begin another challenging journey in their new home as they seek safety, financial stability, and a better life for them and their families. 

 

One of the artists whose work is available at the event tells her story:

“My name is Abadi, a professional sculptor, architect, and visual artist from Yemen…
Throughout the early stages of the war, I stayed in Yemen as a teacher and activist doing all in power to stand up for my country which was becoming more lost by the day. But like so many other thousands of others like me, it was my art and my activism that finally forced me to leave, or face death. Throughout my life and my journey, I have learned that there are several instruments of our humanity that can be used to help achieve peace; the most important of all these I consider to be art....I am continually creating my new life and hope soon I will find enough stability and success to free my family from the war and dangers in Yemen.”

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RISE Travel Institute invites attendees to ‘travel’ through the art and stories of all the refugee artists at the virtual event and to support them by purchasing their art. Kayra Martinez, Founder of Love Without Borders and Afanwi Neba Ngwa, refugee artist from Cameroon, will be present at the event to speak with the audience. Tickets are free and are available at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/virtual-refugee-art-exhibition-tickets-190806506397 Anyone unable to make it to the event can consider making a donation via the same link.

 

About RISE Travel Institute:

Founded in 2020, RISE Travel Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission to inspire responsible, impactful, sustainable, and ethical travel through education. Our online certificate program in Sustainability and Anti-Oppression in Travel aims to educate travelers, students of tourism, and travel industry professionals who are committed to creating lasting positive social and environmental change both abroad and at home. In addition to our online programming, our program graduates have the opportunity to travel on one of our Experiential Journeys to various destinations around the world, allowing students to put their newly acquired knowledge into practice, experience mindful travel, and get involved with sustainable community projects. Our programs are open to anyone anywhere in the world and we aim to make them accessible to all by providing tuition grants and travel scholarships to students with demonstrated financial need.

 

Learn more about RISE Travel Institute at www.risetravelinstitute.org or by following us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

About Love Without Borders for Refugees in Need:

Started in 2015 and founded in 2017 as a 501(c)(3), Love Without Borders gives refugees a platform through which to express themselves, share their experiences, and forge relationships with both a local and global community through art. In addition to using art as a means for self-expression the art becomes a tool for economic independence. In addition to helping refugees, Love Without Borders strives to educate the public about the struggles refugees face; to humanize the refugee experience; and to generate compassion and empathy for all people in this world.

 

Learn more about Love Without Borders at www.lovewithoutborders4refugees.org.

 

Please direct any media inquiries to info@risetravelinstitute.org.