Mission
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international Catholic organisation working in over 50 countries with a mission to accompany, serve and defend the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. 

Our Work
JRS was set up in Malta in 1993 to support the first influx of asylum seekers to the island from crisis areas in the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, mainly from Iraq and Bosnia.  "We believed we should pay attention to refugees as people, and were among the first to raise the awareness of the Maltese public to the presence of refugees." Written by Fr Joseph Cassar, the first director of JRS Malta, these words underline the spirit of our work as it is shaped by the needs of refugees and asylum seekers arriving in Malta.

Although the  situation is now very different, with asylum seekers and forcibly displaced people arriving mostly by boat from the African coast, JRS Malta continues to respond to existing needs.  Besides project based work in Advocacy, Social Work Services and Awareness Raising, JRS Malta also offers pastoral care to detainees and continues to advocate for their rights.

Our Team
Our team consists of a core group of dedicated people and we are supported in our work by a number of deeply generous volunteers and benefactors without whom the meagre resources of our office would be severely restricted.  Both office staff and regular volunteers spend much of their time at the detention centres offering support, professional services, spirituality and a sympathetic ear to detainees and asylum seekers awaiting the outcomes of their cases.