The war in Syria has displaced over 8.4 million people, making it a human crisis second only to World War 2. But every news about it becomes a passing headline day after day. People are now experiencing compassion fatigue that makes them indifferent towards the crisis. Save The Children wanted people to understand what it feels to be forced out of your home. There was a genuine need for compassion again. That’s why we looked deep into the children surviving this unfortunate reality and found something that cannot be ignored. The belongings they fled with. Their Last Possessions.

We created “The Last Possessions”. A book that tells the stories of refugee children through the very last object they fled with. Israa’s pocket mirror, Fahid’s fidget spinner, Amjad’s flute, Sewar’s teddy bear. 25 possessions that carry unfortunate tales of escape, memories of loved ones and the only hope for survival, were written in Haiku poetry. Through the book, we auctioned their ‘Last possessions’ with a twist, where people were invited to bid but encouraged to donate and help the children keep their Last Possessions.

The world is experiencing compassion fatigue. Which means they have seen too many headlines about the crisis to feel the need to act. We decided to show them something that can put them in the shoes of refugee children and step forward to help. To recreate empathy for these children we looked deep into their lives at the camps. We discovered that most of them are holding on just one thing. A physical possession that stands for everything they’ve lost. We decided to bring that to the world and bring attention to the crisis again.

We reached out to the children at the refugee camps and spoke to them every day. They all had one common thing. One belonging that kept their lives going. We documented 25 possessions with photographs and wrote their stories in Haiku poetry, placed them side by side in a way that it can be read, felt and for once not ignored. While the books were mailed to influential people around the world, the pages of the book were released on social every day. Installations were created to show how these children survived their escape. Donors were invited virtually to bid for these possessions, but in turn directed towards a donation page to help these children keep their Last possessions and see a better tomorrow.

The Last Possessions recreated empathy for refugee children, encouraging e-book downloads in 46 countries and generating a 27% rise in donations. Every single donation was a promise to give the refugee children a new life. Without a single possession leaving its rightful owner, we brought attention to a crisis the world had forgotten.