Courtesy of the Idris Foundation
As the global refugee crisis rages on, many are taking it upon themselves to raise awareness and funds through a multitude of ventures. One, in particular, is doing it through the form of fashion. The Idris Foundation began as a passion project of the late Idris Yassin, who established the initiative in an effort to provide shelter, food, and education for orphans living in refugee camps. Though he’s since passed away, his family have decided to continue on his legacy of charitable work by launching the Idris Foundation in his name. The UK-based, non-profit organization spearheaded by Imad Yassin aims to improve the quality of life of refugees – primarily those from his native Eritrea, East of Sudan, Lebanon, Djibouti, and Yemen – in collaboration with Ethar Relief.
To launch the organization, Imad teamed up with his cousin Dina Yassin, founder of Dubai-based sustainable fashion label Efro & Co, to create a line-up of T-shirts bearing illustrations by children living in refugee camps. The idea unfolded three years ago, when then-bride-to-be Dina – who was born in Sudan to Eritrean parents and raised in the UAE – decided to gift her wedding guests something to remember whilst still supporting a cause she holds dearly to her heart. She came up with the idea of sending refugee children some art supplies to paint their vision of hope, family, and love, which she would gift to guests on the day.
“The result was a beautiful collection of paintings,” recalls Imad. Following the roaring success of the paintings, he thought to take the same illustrations and transform them into T-shirts, and thus the Team Refugee project was born. The first collection immediately garnered global attention, leading to a second offering. However, Imad and Dina decided to take the initiative to the next level by casting real refugees alongside models in a series of campaign images.
Courtesy of the Idris Foundation
The portraits were captured by photographer Bruno Gabriel in Spain, who scouted the streets of Barcelona to find the refugee models. “One of the models only arrived 15 days prior to the shoot,” recalls Imad, adding that another has even been contacted by a modeling agency in Spain.
All profits from the Team Refugee T-shirts go towards bettering health and education projects in refugee camps. “We want people to know that it is possible to be into fashion while still making a positive difference in people’s lives,” Imad explains. “The money that came out of selling these products really changed lives.” To wit: The Idris Foundation was able to build schools, provide equipments, and offer training as well as create awareness for the children. As of today, the Idris Foundation supports nine schools, all of which host around 300 children.
T-shirts can be purchased through the foundation’s official Instagram account.
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