Just over a year ago an English teacher from Aleppo moved in with us and our lives changed forever

My friend Shayma from Aleppo invited me to meet her family in their emergency home in Berlin, one of around 100 mass accommodation buildings in a city that has accommodated an extra 80,000 people in just one year.

In early 2015 Bassam folded himself into a crate on the back of a lorry in Athens and 36 hours later he was unloaded in Italy. "I am glad I had bought a change of clothes with me“, he told me whilst laughing at the expression on my face as I realised what he meant. He then made his way towards the Netherlands but got stopped by the police in Germany where he was strongly advised to apply for asylum. After one year his wife and two children joined him and they now all live together in Germany. He tells me about why he made the dangerous journey to Europe.

Over the past year I have met many people who have sadly lost everything and are now trying to start again. The challenges they face and the coping strategies used to overcome them are well worth sharing because we can gain inspiration and ideas for strengthening our own resilience, thereby increasing our own capacity for happiness.