Each year, over 100,000 people seek asylum in France, according to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons. The French have a long history of helping asylum seekers. In Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, a small mountain village, the inhabitants hid Jewish children during the Holocaust, and they now host refugees from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and anglophone and francophone Africa. Today, organizations like Utopia 56 help asylum seekers in Paris and other cities by providing information, food, shelter and other support. Mercer students will work with local organizations and the community to serve refugees and learn about different worldviews.
In Paris, students will work with Utopia 56 and Refugee Food. Utopia 56 helps migrants, especially minors, who are seeking refugee status and who do not yet have protection from the state. Students will work in a donation center, speak with staff and volunteers, and accompany families to their temporary housing. Refugee Food trains refugees to work in restaurants and serves food made by these trainees to all in need. Students will work alongside refugee staff to prepare and serve meals.
In Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, students will engage in meaningful work while learning valuable stories from the refugees and the local community, which has a particularly inspiring tradition of welcoming others. Students will lead a day camp — to include music, dance, sports and writing — with children ages 6-18 from the welcome center for asylum seekers, a children’s group home and the community. An additional project will take place at the center for asylum seekers and will focus on connecting with refugee families through sports and games.
Student applicants who have experience working with children or teens; are ready to listen to others; and are willing to share their talents in art, music, dance, sports, writing and more are preferred. The ability to speak French, or another language, is desired.
My worldview expanded significantly (during Mercer On Mission in France). I came to see how interconnected we are, how the struggles of a person thousands of miles away are tied in subtle ways to my own privilege and position. I no longer see service as a one-time act of generosity but as a long-term commitment to solidarity. Global engagement isn’t about helping others from a distance; it’s about building relationships, recognizing shared humanity, and committing to justice in both personal and systemic ways.
Students are required to sign up for six hours of credit. The registrar will enroll you in courses for your program, including one class from each of the program's faculty.
