Two and a half years after we first met on Lesvos volunteering with the refugee crisis, me and Paul are headed back this July-August for 3 weeks to join the amazing One Happy Family organisation.

The situation on Lesvos (and across Europe in general) has not improved - not only are people still arriving under perilous conditions, but those who have braved the journey are now stuck living in crowded, horrendous conditions, some of whom first arrived when we were there all those years ago, unable to move on with their lives, simply stuck waiting on the islands (and beyond).

The media has silenced the voices and stories that were being portrayed a few years ago. The odd snippet of news may still flash across our screens, but the fuss is over. We have the luxury of pretending it doesn’t exist anymore, that someone must have done something to fix the big mess we saw unfold, but for all those people it is still very, very real and there has been no one come along to fix it.

It disturbs me to think so many of the people I met 2 years ago (and many thousands more) are living in a terrifying, dangerous limbo, waiting at the mercy of governments that have chosen to keep them crammed in inhumane camps with minimal resources, pausing hundreds of thousands of lives.

Paul and I have not been able to stop thinking about the work we did in 2015/16 and after being at university unable to volunteer since then, we have finally got a break from our nursing and medical degrees to go back and do what little we can with what little time we have off.

One Happy Family is helping to provide a solution to the stagnant situation building up on Lesvos - a community centre with a whole host of daily activities for all ages, providing opportunities to keep people developing their skills and passions despite their situation and giving autonomy back to so many.

We hope to join them for 3 weeks to get involved with their many projects, bringing some of our own new skills with us after 2 years of learning, as well aiming to get a clearer understanding of what is happening on Lesvos and what more could be done from home.

Due to being students ourselves and with minimal finances, we have so far only been able to fund our travel to and from Lesvos but need to fund our accommodation (10 euros a night pp) and want to bring a donation with us to the organisation.

We would be so grateful for any donations to help us on our way and so we are able to bring something with us to this amazing organisation doing so much for so many who have been otherwise forgotten.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for any help you feel able to give - we can assure you every little bit will be used wisely.

We are both so pleased we are able to finally get back to the work we love so much and that brought us together in the first place, thank you for helping us to do this!