Emma has been out working on Lesvos, in the emergency response operations , for over a year now, at present co-ordinating the volunteers and support provided by the NGO Lighthouse Relief. This response on the North Shore of the island is run by two international NGOs – Refugee Rescue and Lighthouse Relief. The numbers of refugees arriving in Greece have not reduced at all, yet the media has lost interest. This year has been the busiest since the EU: Turkey deal. In north Lesvos so far over 6,262 people have arrived – around half of which are children, including 250 unaccompanied minors.

The volunteers are trained extensively to spot for boats around the clock, day and night, to ensure safe passage. There is also a landing team, on call 24/7, who respond to every boat that arrives on the north shore of the island. People frequently arrive traumatised, often cold and wet, and rely on the volunteers to triage their medical and physical needs before the UNHCR come to transport them to the stage 2 transit facility – where another Lighthouse team will be waiting (again on call 24/7, every day of the year). Whilst the NGO teams carry out these roles to ensure safety of those crossing, they are also a fundamental human face – a welcome smile – in an too-often bleak journey.

At Stage 2, these NGOs remain with the groups from start to finish (under the jurisdiction of UNHCR and the local port police authorities); supplying them with warm, dry clothing, blankets, toiletries, and tea, as well and emotional comfort. It is often the first time people have had the chance to eat, drink, and rest in days, and people can stay anywhere between half an hour to 78 hours at the camp. This rest is crucial, as they are then transported on to the main camp on the island, the notoriously overcrowded and dangerous Moria camp, where the formal process of registration starts, which can be especially gruelling.

The volunteers are self-supporting but donations are dwindling. Monthly expenses for fuel and transport costs, first aid equipment and supplies are around £1000 just to keep the emergency response operations running, so any help we can provide will genuinely make a huge difference – and this is where the crowd funding donations will go directly towards. Any extra support in terms of clothing, (especially small men’s and shoes) are always welcome too.

Lighthouse Relief has a mainland Greece camp as well, but because we want to focus the funds to support in Lesvos we will use the crowd-funding element of Just-giving to consolidate the monies we receive, before transferring them all to the NGOs directly. Charlie promises he will cover the additional costs to Just-giving himself so you can be confident all your money will go to help the response efforts provided by the incredible group of volunteers.

If you want any further information about the work of the emergency response teams please visit:

https://www.lighthouserelief.org

https://www.refugeerescue.co.uk

Or you can contact Emma on admin.lesvos@lighthouserelief.org (she may take a few days to reply!)

With huge thanks and much love Emma, Charlie, Claire and Jack Fairhurst