This is a question I often get. In camp are different spaces and activities:

• Library: A small space in camp where people can lend a book or study. Outside there is a shelter under wich we teach kids of all ages.
• Mobile Library: A mobile version of a library (except the books). We have some tarps, a game of uno, some whiteboards and a jumping rope.
• Sewing space: Here some amazing and talented people work as tailors, they are resident volunteers and take mainly clothing projects from people in the camp, fix them and make sure every one is looked well after.
• Hospital rides: From the gate at camp to the hospital and back, we ride people up and down the mountain for their hospital appointment. It takes healthy people generally 1 hour and 40 minutes to walk to the city down the mountain. The walk back to the camp is an uphill climb and if you are sick it is quite a risk, especially in the heat of summer. We also drive mamma´s with their newborn babies to the townhall to register their baby.
• Free clothing shop: Here people can pick out 1 set of free clothing
• Sports: Playing sports at the field such as football or Volleybal.
• Women´s community: A safe place for women to come together with their kids. Here we try to spend some nice time together with tea, activities and games. And on friday an additional party.
• Laundry space: As the hygiene in camp is not the best, some people are unlucky enough to get scabies. They can get a washing ticket from the MSF office and we will help them clean their clothes, blankets, etc. 
• Warehouse: There is a lot of sorting and fixing orders to do so every once in a while you are scheduled for wharehouse.
• Social Care: Social care takes care of mentally challenged residents, they frequently check in with them and follow up if needed.  They will try to connect them, if possible to the right help. Inside or outside camp. 

In some of the spaces we work together with amazing resident volunteers. Without them our work definitely wouldn´t be so joyful, they are of a great help in every way! 

In december I joined the social care team, a commitment I made for at least 6 months. Social Care is in camp to support people, help with questions and to refer them to the right organisations inside and outside camp. A big part of it is also building relationships and providing a safe space for people to share their story and care for them in the best way possible.

CRR is a Dutch NGO and it´s name stands for Christian Refugee Relief.

As a foundation, their mission is to offer a helping hand to refugees—wherever they are in the world. ´Sometimes this help is very practical, such as providing essential goods. But more often, a “helping hand” means having an open heart, offering a listening ear, or simply placing a comforting arm around someone’s shoulder.´

It is based in The Netherlands and was founded around the refugee crisis. They provide practical help to people on the move and in crisis situations—in Greece, Bosnia, Ukraine, and other places.
They do this by organizing relief transports and mission trips, and by supporting various local projects.

Take a look at their website: https://www.christianrefugeerelief.com/

Eurorelief is a Greek non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO).

From the Netherlands, I’m sent out through a partnership with Christian Refugee Relief (CRR), with whom I have a contract. However, on location, we all work under the name of Eurorelief. Eurorelief is CRR’s partner organization and holds access to the refugee camps on both Lesvos and Samos.

Eurorelief was founded in 2005 in Athens and deployed its first team to Kalamata, Greece, in response to deadly earthquakes. There, they helped by providing and setting up mobile homes for those affected. In the years that followed, many more teams were sent out to provide humanitarian aid after various disasters in Greece and the surrounding region.

In September 2015, when a massive influx of refugees and migrants arrived on the Greek Aegean islands, Eurorelief began its work on Lesvos.

Their first response involved receiving refugee boats near the Korakas Lighthouses, where most people were arriving.

Soon after, they began managing the stage two transit camp in Skala Sykamnias. There, they welcomed new arrivals with tea and snacks, helped distribute clothing and blankets, hosted people who needed overnight shelter, and organized transport to the Moria camp.

In the winter of 2016, Eurorelief transitioned again and started working inside the Moria Reception Hotspot, continuing their operations within the camp itself.

After the devastating fires that destroyed Moria on September 8, 2020, they resumed their work in Mavrovouni, the newly established temporary camp.

In the spring of 2021, Eurorelief was invited to bring its experience to the newly opened CCAC (Closed Controlled Access Center) Zervou on Samos. They assisted with the relocation from the old camp in Vathy to the new facility. Today, they are actively involved in community engagement and logistics support within the camp.

When the war in Ukraine broke out, Eurorelief helped set up a container camp for Ukrainian refugees near Bucharest, Romania. They also sent volunteers to the Romanian-Ukrainian and Polish-Ukrainian borders to support grassroots emergency efforts there.

From February to March 2023, a team was deployed to the earthquake-struck region of Hatay, Türkiye. There, they supported the local population in many ways: helping with food distribution, setting up tents and small wooden houses, distributing hundreds of boxes of food and hygiene items, organizing children’s activities in informal camps, and simply lending a helping hand wherever it was needed. Now that Türkiye has largely moved out of the emergency phase, Eurorelief is exploring how best to continue contributing in this new context.

In 2023, when floods caused major destruction in central Greece, leaving many families homeless and in urgent need, Eurorelief teams were on the ground for weeks, offering hands-on help through clean-up efforts and relief distributions.

At the moment, Eurorelief is also exploring opportunities to expand its work to Cyprus and the Greek mainland.

Take a look at their website: https://www.eurorelief.net/

A resident volunteer is someone who lives in the camp and, just like us, volunteers for the organization Eurorelief. In other words: they are our colleagues!

They can help out in many different ways and don’t need a diploma to do so. Some support with translation—especially in places like the free clothing shop, where newly arrived people often have many questions.

Resident volunteers working in the sewing space, for example, were often tailors in their home countries or learned these skills along their journey. And they are truly talented!

Resident volunteers are only allowed to assist with tasks inside the camp—such as in the library, the sewing space, the women’s community, or the free clothing shop.

Eurorelief volunteers wear a red vest, while resident volunteers are usually recognized by their white vest.

The majority of the refugees in the camp come from Afghanistan and Sudan. In addition, there are many people from Syria, Somalia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Palestine, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, and a handful of people from Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and other countries. This may of course differe due to the reason why people flee, for every country has different problems.

I don’t have a precise answer to this question yet. For at least one year, I have entered into an agreement with CRR to work on Samos. After this year, we will reassess whether to extend the agreement, for how long, and in which location. Above these decisions stands God, and I believe that He will provide and show a way.