By Clara Marshall | Head of Communications
It has been a warm spring and our teams are busier than ever, from Ramadan in Ritsona to ECO cleanup activities on Lesvos. We are constantly in awe of the support you provide to our programmes year round, in and out of the field. We quite literally couldn’t do it without you: thanks to your generous contributions, we have been able to continue our vital operations and make plans for the summer – always a busy time.
So far this year, our team on the north shore of Lesvos has faced a number of challenging circumstances. In February, a young girl tragically lost her life when a boat encountered difficulties as it approached a rocky patch of coast in the northeast of Lesvos. In March, we received news that yet more lives had been lost in an attempt to reach safety in Europe: two people were reported missing off the coast of Chios, and four more in a shipwreck near the Turkish coast.
These events remind us of the importance of our presence on the north shore of Lesvos, and the need to guarantee safe passage into Europe for those seeking refuge. In 2019, our team has assisted over 1,500 new arrivals on the north shore. May has been a quiet month, with smaller numbers in each boat, but people continue to attempt the crossing and our team is hard at work.
In Ritsona refugee camp, residents have been celebrating the end of Ramadan with music, dancing and colourful decorations. Our team is busier than ever, running art workshops, language lessons, after school programming and sports. Each day, over 140 young residents attend our Child Friendly Space and Youth Engagement Space.
LHR operations rely on the extraordinary generosity and enduring support shown by you, our global community. Across our programming, your help has allowed us to successfully consolidate our staff teams and achieve the financial stability necessary to continue our operations. Now we are looking to go further, making improvements and expanding to ensure that we are providing our vital services to the highest possible standard. With your help, we can meet this challenge!
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