Given the events of the last month in Lesvos I would like to make the following statement.

I volunteered with ERCI for several weeks during summer 2018. I am heartbroken that there are allegations of criminality within an organization I volunteered for in good faith. I cannot comment on these accusations at this time as I do not know the full story. All I can say is that I never witnessed nor learnt of any illegal activity during the time of my involvement with the charity, and certainly did not partake in anything illegal.

All donations made to the charity via this page were handled directly by me. I either withdrew the money from ATM's in Lesvos, witnessed by team members, or went to pharmacies and used my bank card, and used the money to purchase medical supplies for the clinic in Moria. I have paper receipts and bank statements to prove this. All supplies I purchased were documented in the NGO inventory, and are accounted for.

If anyone has any queries about their donations, please feel free to reach out, but I can reassure you that any money donated to the charity via me went to the refugees directly, as medication, medical supplies (bandages etc) and non-medical equipment (containers for urine samples).

Thank you all again for your support.

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This summer I am going to volunteer with ERCI, helping them to respond to the refugee crisis in Lesvos, Greece. I will be helping to manage the health center, support on asylum seeker status and general camp admin, and be a first aider, translator and skipper in the search and rescue team. All money donated here will go to the charity - not myself. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have :)

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ECRI has been based in Lesvos since 2015 and has so far saved/helped the lives of over 45,000 refugees fleeing to Europe. The charity has a number of operations that support these people, mainly:

- Refugee accommodation, WASH and medical facilities and education. This includes organising donations, keeping people safe, helping them with documentation, and working out their next steps.

- Education - providing schooling and education to the young people resident in the Lesbos camps.

- Search and Rescue - supporting the Hellenic Coastguard in rescue operations and boat landings. This can also include performing life saving medical procedures and care for injured, hypothermic or drowning refugees.

- Medical provision - running a health centre for emergency and non-emergency health care for refugees.

To find out more about this amazing charity - click here: https://ercintl.org/