Advance Relief Efforts for Refugees in Greece

With summer winding down, and winter approaching, the past few months have been full of activity for our teams on Lesvos and in Ritsona Refugee Camp. In addition to preparing for winter, Lighthouse Relief has been responding to the growing need for emergency aid on the north shore, and psychosocial support in Ritsona Camp.

Throughout the autumn, our presence on the north shore of Lesvos has proven to be crucial. Despite rain, cold, and rough seas, people continue to arrive to Lesvos, seeking safety. Since the start of September, we have provided support upon arrival and/or at the UNHCR stage 2 transit camp to over 6,700 people.

We ensure that people arriving can access safe and fast assistance on arrival. After helping them to disembark, we provide emergency blankets, dry food and water. In Stage 2, we provide dry clothes, hot tea, as well as hospitality, warmth and some moments of rest after the difficult journey. In November alone, we supported over 2,000 people arriving to Lesvos, over half of whom were under 18. So far in 2019, Lighthouse Relief has supported over 12,500 people arriving to Lesvos.

Meanwhile, in Central Greece, Ritsona Refugee Camp continues to expand, and we are seeing new faces in our Child Friendly Space and our Youth Engagement Space everyday. In September, we presented the ninth edition of the Ritsona Kingdom Journal, another showcase for the talent of the youth, who contributed art, poetry, and prose to its pages. Several talented actors in the camp also worked with one of our skilled volunteers to create two short films  including "A Dream," a film that touches on our shared humanity, and the universal language of dreams.

In our Child Friendly Space, our team is continuing to engage the young residents in structured play and activities. Our team is consistently amazed by the works of art that the children create alongside their peers -- during "Music Week" in the space, they created microphones out of toilet paper rolls, and bells from paper cups, just one example of their creativity and ingenuity.   

With winter around the corner on the mainland, our Child Friendly Space team worked with young residents of the camp to restructure, clean, and beautify our indoor spaces! Several of the camp's artists conceived of new art for our CFS, using stencils and spray paint to meticulously create bright and colorful scenes on the indoor and outdoor walls. Ritsona Camp will grow significantly in the new year, and our Resident Volunteers have been crucial to our ability to be prepared for this expansion. 

In addition to showcasing their creativity, children and youth in the camp have been actively engaging in our regular sports programming, playing vigorous matches of table tennis, football games with a local UEFA-certified coach, yoga sessions, badminton and tennis. 

At the end of September, we also observed a milestone -- our four year anniversary. On September 28, 2015, Lighthouse Relief's founders joined forces on Lesvos, pledging to remain as long as they were needed. We are still here, on the shore, and on the mainland, supporting people arriving, and people awaiting asylum. We could not do this work without your support, and we are deeply grateful - thank you. 

Links:

• The Ritsona Kingdom Journal