Over 80% of asylum seekers have smartphones. A Trans World Radio app offers over 300 audio programs to “address trauma and other difficulties refugees face in Europe.”
Audio contents are being produced to serve refugees in Europe. / TWR
Smartphones are a key tool for refugees. They help them to be connected with family relatives back in their home country, and they are needed to find important information and connections in the places they reach.
This is why Christians in TransWorldRadio’s Refugee Bridge ministry have been looking for ways to serve asylum seekers in their very specific needs, and share the Christian hope with them.
ADDRESSING THE REAL ISSUES
One of the contents that has just been launched is a 30-episode audio-drama series called New Country, New Home (NCNH), specially made for people arriving to Europe.
A power bank with the QR code to the app website. / TWR “The series follows the life of Khalid, a fictional Syrian refugee in Germany, and addresses general life issues (trauma, shame, societal marginalization) and spiritual issues for refugees”, the producers explain. “Episodes touch on topics such as ‘Will I ever learn the culture here?’, ‘Am I alone?’, ‘Does God love me?’, and ‘What do Christians believe?’”.
The programs are done “in a very sensitive and careful way for a primarily Muslim audience”. The aim is to provide an entertaining program “that captivates its audience with relatable content that addresses their real life issues.”
2 APPS FOR REFUGEES
Two mobile apps for refugees are offering these media contents for free.
On June 20th, the first episodes of New Country, New home were made available on the “Love Europe” app, a project propelled by Agape which brings together several other Christian groups. This app already offered a variety of tools, including a section that points them to useful locations and a feature that connects them with local people who want to help.
Now the media section offers TWR audio programs such as Hope for Syria and the aforementioned New Country, New Home.
The Love Europe app offers a variety of tools for refugees arriving in Europe. / Love-EuropeThe second app is “Refugee Bridge”, for those more specifically interested in media contents and radio podcasts. It contains TWR’s full range of eleven refugee audio programs. This currently includes over 340 episodes in Arabic, Farsi and Dari. New episodes are added every week to touch on topics of interest for asylum seekers in Europe, as well as messages about “the only true Hope – Jesus Christ.”
TOOLS FOR EVERYONE TO USE
These programms and the mobile apps should be widely used by ministries and individuals, TWR members say, because “together, we can show Christ’s love to refugees, using the very smartphones that are in their pockets!”
Everyone is welcomed to download the apps on their mobile phone (“Love Europe” here, “Refugee Bridge” here).
Learn more about the audio programs for refugees and about ways to contribute financially to this media project, by writing to refugeebridge@twr.org.
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