Hudara

14/10/2026

For millions of Ukrainians seeking refuge across Europe, mental health care is hard to reach. 🫂

Forced displacement disrupts daily routines, friendships, family connections, and the networks to lean on when life is hard. Despite host countries’ efforts, access to mental health care remains limited due to overstretched systems, language barriers or bureaucracy. Some evidence-based approaches exist, but they don't reach everyone who needs them.

Within our GEZUMI project, we created a space together with Ukrainian women living in Germany to feel understood and connected. This work inspired a new article by our colleagues Lena A. Schmid and Feride Nur Haskaraca in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, which makes the case for peer support as a complement to professional mental health care. 🫶

Peer support builds on shared lived experience, mutual responsibility, and agreement about what is actually helpful. It may be a good fit for Ukrainian refugees because it can grow within displaced communities and adapt to local norms, languages, and ways of coping. 💫

We’re glad we could draw on our experience with GEZUMI and grateful to the women and facilitators who shaped this work with us. 🙏

Read the open-access article here:

Since the escalation of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, more than six million Ukrainians have sought refuge across Europe, facing significant psychosocial strain. Disrupted social networks, family separation, economic uncertainty, and barriers to services contribute to elevated levels of anxiet...

07/10/2026

Sometimes, it’s the small coincidences that lead us to our big decisions. 💫

👉 If Katherine Lowe had not created a poster on climate change in primary school, she might have never put it up on her wall. It might not have reminded her every day of how little has been done to reduce the impact of global warming, and she might not have decided to study a Master’s in Environment at the University of Melbourne many years later.

👉 If it had not been for this decision, she might never have arrived in Berlin for her study exchange at the Technical University of Berlin, where she first heard of Hudara and realised that its vision reflected her own values.

So she made the long journey from Australia to Germany once again to join our team. As one of her motivations, she highlights: “I wanted to find out more about how Hudara’s values translate into practice in the ‘real world,’ moving beyond the mere theoretical concepts I have learnt about.” 📚

And she managed what she set herself up to do. As a valued member of our team, she participates in the FLOW4Med project and uses her knowledge of social-ecological systems thinking, political ecology, and resilience building in developing a project-based monitoring and evaluation system. 🍃

30/09/2026

See technology through people's eyes, not people through the lens of technology. 🫂

That was the message our Research Associate Tim presented at the Annual International Conference of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG) in London. It is a valuable reminder that sharing human-centred, context-based, and flexible solutions cannot happen behind closed doors. It takes genuine connection, honest participation, and networking. 💬

👉 At the conference, Tim emphasised that energy access remains one of the most overlooked issues in displacement contexts, despite having a profound impact on daily life in refugee camps and settlements. Recent UNHCR data show that by the end of 2025, nearly 118 million persons were displaced worldwide. Yet the vast majority of refugees still lack reliable access to electricity, and most depend on firewood or charcoal to cook.

The few solutions available are technology-centred, follow fixed implementation plans, and don’t reflect diverse lived realities. That is why the SUNNY project, on which Tim is working, proposes another starting point: one based on context, diverse perspectives, and long-term participation. This allows people to shape the design of technology around their needs, creating solutions with meaningful and lasting impact. 🙏

11/08/2026

How can communities lead the design of energy and waste solutions? 🤝

💬 In June, host community members and refugees in Mahama camp in Rwanda came together to talk about energy and how they use it, what support and information they can access, and who gets to decide. The conversations also revealed how these experiences differ across groups, and pointed to real barriers and opportunities for adopting renewable technologies. While energy-access initiatives often focus on technology and infrastructure, these insights show why people's everyday realities need to shape the solutions.

💬 In the same month, informal waste workers in Kirehe and Mahama gathered for a focus group of their own. They identified the barriers they face, the opportunities they see, and their own possible solutions for improving waste collection, sorting, recovery, safety, and livelihoods in the local waste management system.

👉 These activities generate practical insights into what communities need, where current systems fall short, and how future solutions can respond more effectively to local realities. They help ensure that those most impacted shape the direction of the work. 🙏

👉 The sessions were part of the Multi-actor Learning Labs (MALLs) under the SUNNY project, facilitated by Hudara together with Practical Action.

Photo: Berthille Kampire

22/07/2026

Hudara is growing. 🙌

We are happy to share that in June we welcomed two new members of our team. They will both support our participation in the FLOW4Med project, although in different ways. 🤗

👉 Kateřina Hlaváčková took on the role of our Communication Officer. Her background in journalism, international relations, and human rights, combined with experience in editorial leadership and social media management, allows her to translate complex realities into compelling narratives. Her goal is to amplify local voices through storytelling, which she has always been passionate about, a commitment she brings to both Hudara's and FLOW4Med's communication.

👉 As our new Research Associate, Paola Perrin de Brichambaut applies her interdisciplinary academic background to develop participatory processes in climate adaptation projects. Her research centres a rights-based approach to support inclusive transformation, focusing in particular on the social vulnerabilities of impacted communities. As part of the FLOW4Med project, she is developing and implementing a Living Lab strategy for knowledge co-creation at the three demonstration sites.

We are excited to have them both on board and look forward to what lies ahead! 🎉

06/07/2026

🎉 Big news from the Hudara team! We're excited to share that we're now part of FLOW4Med, a new EU-funded project working to protect and renew water resources across the Mediterranean.

🤝 Together with seven partners from five countries, we celebrated the official launch of the project at our kick-off meeting last week.

🌅 The Mediterranean is warming faster than almost anywhere else on the planet, which is bringing more droughts, water scarcity, and extreme heat into the region. Over the next three years, FLOW4Med will test Nature-based Solutions (NbS), like constructed wetlands, ecosystem regeneration, and green urban infrastructure, to help communities in Lebanon, Greece, and Egypt become more resilient to these changes. 🌱

👉🏻 At Hudara, we're proud to lead the project's Living Lab structure, working directly with local communities to ensure these solutions are shaped by the people who will actually use and benefit from them.

We can't wait to share more updates as the project develops. Stay connected! 💙

03/03/2026

We’re looking for new colleagues 🍃
At Hudara, we work across three core areas: climate adaptation, mental health, and energy sovereignty, united by a focus on strengthening resilience and fostering inclusive, locally rooted solutions. As a small, committed team, we strive for meaningful progress and lasting impact.
We’re currently hiring for:
• Research Associate – Adaptation to Climate Change
• Communications Manager
If you care about these topics, value collaborative work, and are motivated to contribute to these efforts, we would love to hear from you.
You can find the full job descriptions and application details here:
https://lnkd.in/e_nFB2e
Please feel free to share this with anyone in your network who might be interested.

21/12/2025

As the year comes to an end, we look back on a dynamic time shaped by both enriching experiences and challenges. While many global developments have filled us with concern and sorrow, we are grateful for the people and initiatives that stand up for others, foster open dialogue, and work for a dignified life for all.
At our end-of-year workshop in Berlin, we took time to reflect on our values, exchange ideas across the team, and rethink the motivation behind our work. With this shared perspective, we look ahead to the new year with hope and confidence.
We are grateful for your continued interest and support and wish you a restful and peaceful time—until next year ⭐