Our Story

Born as a street school...

We were founded in 2017 by a Syrian refugee named Alaeddin Janid.

Alaeddin experienced the impact of long and empty days in refugee camps with no schooling or activities for children or their families. 

Compelled to help, Alaeddin set up a street school inside a Greek camp. Every day he gave simple English and Maths lessons to students who wanted to learn. Eventually he purchased an old TV set which became known as the “cinema”. 

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After being granted asylum in the Netherlands, Alaeddin registered Happy Caravan as a Dutch non-profit organisation and returned immediately to Greece to continue his work.

Through social media he was able to find his first volunteers, volunteers who are still actively engaged with Happy Caravan to this day! 

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Why are we called Happy Caravan?

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The positive impact of Alaeddin's work was quickly felt throughout the camp community. He was sleeping in a tent on the roadside at the time, but was soon offered a bed inside a small caravan shared by multiple families.

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One day, Alaeddin went outside and saw that a child had written “Hapy” (with one “P”) on the side of the caravan he slept in...

Here was born the name "Happy Caravan"...