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Helen Calcutt & Aurelie Blondeau-Calcutt raised £1,400 from 36 supporters
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Closed 14/10/2017
Weʼve raised £1,400 to the 'Pikpa' refugee camp medical team. Urgent help needed.
- Birmingham, UK
- Funded on Saturday, 14th October 2017
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Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving Page.
In May 2017, my sister-in-law and I visited PIKPA, a self-organised refugee camp on the island of Lesvos, providing support to the most vulnerable individuals seeking refuge. We were both inspired and saddened by what we saw. After speaking with Dimitri Ippioti, one of the two nurses on PIKPA, we decided to focus on crowdfunding for healthcare.
The medical team - with one doctor, two nurses, and one psychological therapist - is small, and the scale of human need, incomparable. They not only care for their residents, but reach out to many other isolated and vulnerable individuals on the island, working tirelessly to help those who have lost everything carve a future. A healthy one that could, in some ways, be happy too.
Costs for care however are astronomical, hindered by new internal social complexities, and a stubborn government. Simple procedures such as insulin treatment and short hospitalization costs €700. Child vaccinations for school attendance is €600 per child. The Greek government has outlined that every refugee child must attend school, and MUST be vaccinated to attend. The government however won't fund these vaccinations.
In less than 2 months, all the major charities will leave the island, further shrinking resources and support. Any donation that you make today will go directly to strengthening Pikpa's medical facilities at this crucial time. Their efforts are indispensable, and it's essential we help them reach those who have becomes isolated and alone. Who, like all of us in need, deserve the chance to move forward and seek a better quality of life. There are women who have lost husbands; men who have lost wives; mothers who have lost their daughters and sons; and many, many orphaned children. There's a vacancy behind their eyes that's disturbing -
but that could be lifted. And a hopeful future starts with a healthy one.
Please give what you can.
Updates
4
6 years ago
Helen Calcutt & Aurelie Blondeau-Calcutt
6 years agoWe did it! Deepest thanks to everyone who supported our campaign - to all our readers, promoters, poets and book-store owners. We simply couldn't have done it without you.
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6 years ago
Helen Calcutt & Aurelie Blondeau-Calcutt
6 years ago"My wish is to go to my home in Iraq and play with my friends and go to my school when the Isis is finished." With the balance of home life, comes the balance of dreams. This is now the dream of one child on the refugee camp known as 'Pikpa'. It's sad enough, and this is one place, one child. There are people fleeing their homes and seeking refuge all over the world. But if we can help one, we can work towards helping the many.
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6 years ago
Helen Calcutt & Aurelie Blondeau-Calcutt
6 years agoThank you so much to everyone who has donated so far :) keep them coming! Even the smallest amount will make a difference.
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Helen Calcutt & Aurelie Blondeau-Calcutt started crowdfunding
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Supporters
36
Malvern Book Cooperative
Oct 12, 2017
Donated by the very generous audience at the Poetry for Pikpa event Sat 7th Oct 2017
£280.00
Sue and Pete Cullimore
Oct 2, 2017
Sorry we can't make it on Saturday. Heard about it through friends at the bookshop and are in Greece at the moment. All the best with your fundraising - much needed.
£20.00
Anonymous
Sep 28, 2017
Getting to Malvern is difficult for me but I can at least make a donation to show my support - jan
£50.00
David Calcutt
Sep 18, 2017
Thank you to everyone who helped raise this amount at the poetry reading at Waterstones, Birmingham.
£50.00
Darren Bruce
Sep 16, 2017
Well done on reaching £1000.
£20.00
Penny Harper
Sep 16, 2017
Well done in your very good project.
£20.00
Ormiston Sadnwwell Community Academy
Sep 11, 2017
£205.00
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Helen Calcutt & Aurelie Blondeau-Calcutt
Birmingham, UK
We are raising funds to support the small medical team working on the PIKPA refugee camp, situated on the island of Lesvos. Costs for basic healthcare are astronomical, and in less than 2 months, all major charity support on the ground will be withdrawn.